SILENCE! Night.

(I love the Achmed skit the comedian Jeff Dunham does, and I thought this title was slightly… calmer than “Silence, I kill you!”)
I was reading Silence and something that really stuck with me was how Sebastian describes the Japanese’s reception of Christianity-- I mean the common people, not the sadistic leaders. Sebastian says, “The reason our religion has penetrated this territory like water flowing into dry earth is that it has given to this group of people a human warmth they never previously knew. For the first time they have met men who treated them like human beings.” Early on in the passage, he says that the people in the village are poor farmers. I got the feeling that they had been really taken advantage of by their national leaders, and when the missionaries started coming over, they saw for the first time hope. Hope that there was someone who loved them unconditionally and who, most importantly, cared. 
That section left me wondering, is this how people feel now when we go out to minister to them? Are we bringing water to their thirsting hearts? This weekend is Cardboard City and earlier in the day UM students are going out to minister to the homeless in our area. This is such a great reading to be doing now. How many of the people we will see are in the same positions as these farmers and how many will feel hope for the first time in ages? Someone could come to know Christ just because you cared enough to sit and talk with them for a moment. In that moment, you could give them the biggest dose of kindness they've had in a long time. Food for thought.


P.S.: I commented on Rachel's "Soup"