Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Just Good....?


It’s a good story.  That is what she said when I told her the story of Nicodemus.  Good is not the adjective that I would have chosen to describe that story – life changing, astonishing and breathtaking might have been how I would have described the story that contains one of the most recognized verses in the Bible. 

Two days before, she had been thrown out of her house by her husband with nothing but a blanket.  She had come to the church, asking for help.  Since she is HIV+, we asked her to come by our house so that we could give her a BGR (Baptist Global Response) ‘Bucket of Love’ that is full of healthcare items for the terminally ill.  On a side note, I have given these buckets out to about 4 people now and more often than not, the women are most excited about the actual 5 gallon bucket and the zip lock bags which hold items such as petroleum jelly, Dove soap, Carmex, pillow cases, vitamins, washcloths and such.  J

It is such a great opportunity to share Jesus up close and personal to those that I give the buckets, so I chose to share with her the story of Nicodemus.  Many, many, many Zambians have a warped knowledge of the truth and really, have a lot in common with Nicodemus.  They can relate to Nicodemus being a religious man as a lot of Zambians do attend church but most are banking on their church attendance and their obedience to The Law to save them. 

After the story plus an in depth explanation of John 3:16, I asked her how she might want to respond and that is when she said, “It’s a good story.”  How heartbreaking.  Please pray for Claire - that she will come to know Jesus as her personal Savior and know the truth about how God so very much loved the world that…..Yes, you know the rest of the verse.  Please pray that Claire will finally understand the truth of this amazing story of God’s love.