Most of us are well aware of the human rights issues around the planet. Atrocities perpetrated on women and children. Christians and Jews under attack and being brutally murdered. Murders of innocent and unborn children......this list could be endless and yet as many who know, there are still many are still unaware and remain in ignorance of such travesty.
On the flip side (and possibly just as heinous) are the good things we pass by every day and never take the time to thank Abba YeHoVaH for. There is still a vast amount of goodness in this world. Against all odds, there is still kindness, compassion and love surrounding us and we often don't take a single moment to soak it in and be grateful.
Every day, here in China, Naphtali and I get to see a culture which truly appreciates the family. Don't get me wrong, the divorce rate here is very high, like every where else. But we see grandparents waiting impatiently at the bus stop for their grandchild to get home from school. We observe mommies and daddies walk their chubby little toddlers to the tea houses to pick out a pastry treat. We see little one's playing in the square near our house and 3 or 4 generations of family there to play along. These are not uncommon elsewhere, but elsewhere they have not endured the longing for “family” that THIS people has. It makes us want to laugh and rejoice with them, but also join in what must be many secret tears longing for more......
The enemy of God and humanity is at work trying very hard to destroy every last vestige of the family unit, but here in China there is a culture of honor which is just as pervasive. This is a people who are being reserved for greatness in His Kingdom. He is quietly calling out to them from a culture which is primed for the addition of eternal redemption as the lit match put to the wick of a very big set of fireworks. Many here have not known that God has hidden Himself throughout their culture, language and forms of written communication. He has laid a sure foundation for China which goes back to about 2500 BCE – just after the Tower of Babel. This people, who cherish every child as if they were made of the most precious of material wealth (which of course they are), have so much love and compassion on their children and grandchildren. Are they perfect? No. Is there still child abuse and neglect? Yes. So what makes them different? They have been denied these precious gifts in many ways and never lost hope. They never gave in. They never threw their hands in the air and stopped trying to have a family to love. Recently that hope was rewarded and renewed. As has been reported around the world, China passed a law allowing families to have 2 children. Instead of simply giving up hope, they held onto it as tightly as they did the child they each legally had. Holding that precious hope has birthed new life now that it has brought the much desired result.
In life, we must learn to embrace what we have and believe for improvement. We cannot simply believe it is as good as we can ever get or as much as we deserve just because that is what outside influences want us to believe. We also cannot dishonor what we have and expect our belief will ever be rewarded. We must honor and be grateful, we must mix these with our faith, and in His time we will be rewarded.