On Sunday I went with David Thomas and Augustine (our Yearly Meeting Superintendent) to the Murinja Friends Church, which is one of the 4 communities we are working in through the Discipling for Development ministry.
Augustine led us in what I think is one of the most profound and really practical teachings I've ever heard in Rwanda! The lesson came from the ministry of LifeWind International.
But before I tell about the lesson I should explain a little about our friends in this community and in most of Rwanda. Most Rwandans have traditionally been subsistence farmers, meaning that they have a small plot of land and plant enough crops to eat and hopefully a little extra in order to be able to buy a few items they can't produce (i.e. salt, sugar, etc). Society in Rwanda is changing and it seems that often farmers are viewed as low peasants. Jobs in an office or teaching are viewed as prestigious and being a pastor is often viewed as the way to serve God. So some of our friends who are farmers are viewed as lowly and sometimes feel like they are worth little. This is obviously not the way God sees them!
The lesson started with an important question, "Who was the first farmer?" As we all thought about it, the answer seemed obvious to us, "Adam, was the first farmer!" But then as we looked at the book of Genesis we discovered that we were all wrong! In the 8th & 9th verses of chapter 2 we are told,
"Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had created. And the LORD God planted all sorts of trees in the garden--beautiful trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (NLT)
So God was the first farmer; He planted the garden of Eden! Some people would say that farming is a part of the curse because of Adam and Eve's sin, but here and in the following we verses (v. 15) we see that God gave humanity the task of tending and caring for the garden. Yes, farming as well as all of life was effected by the Fall, but we are called to farming! The effects of this truth is huge and very practical for our friends who have sometimes felt like they are on the bottom of the society. Augustine then asked them the following 3 questions:
1) "How does God view you as a farmer?";
2) "How should we view our job as farmers?"; and
3) "How should we view God now that we know about this high calling of farming that He has given us?"
As our friends responded, we could tell that the Lord was speaking to them! These are the kind of thoughts they share:
-- God has called us to farm
-- Farming is really important (and God thinks so too!)" [Many jobs come because of farming, i.e. a carpenter has a job because someone planted the trees!]
-- He has given us strength and hands to use in farming
-- We provide food for the people in the offices
In the work of farming we see a very tangible and practical way in which God is directly involved in our daily lives! The crops that we plant would not grow unless God makes them grow! Our fields would not be planted unless we get out and plant them. It is only through our partnership with God that we can have food to eat...we work hard to plant the seeds and God makes them grow! What an awesome God that participates in our real and actual daily life!
About a month ago the sermon in the worship service we participated in was about the Body of Christ and simply taking a look at some different parts of our body in a similar way that Paul used in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12. It is really a simple teaching, but sometimes hard to understand in the depths of who I am. So I have been reflecting on these passages as well as Ephesians 4 and trying to understand it’s reality in my life. I know that I am loved and valued by God because I am His child. He created me and knew me even when I was in my mother’s womb! But unlike many North Americans, our Triune God is not individualistic; He actually designed us to live in community, just as He lives in community as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! So the Lord has been confronting my slant towards individualism with His design for life to be lived out in community.Here are some thoughts from Paul taken Eugene Peterson’s really helpful contemporary English translation, the Message, NavPress, 2004: From Romans 12…“Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his Body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”
From I Corinthians 12…”Your body has many parts – limbs, organs, cells – but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything…As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, ‘Get lost; I don’t need you’? Or, Head telling Foot, ‘You’re fired; your job has been phased out’?...The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part…You are Christ’s body – that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your ‘part’ mean anything.”
At the risk of being too vulnerable I want to share some about one of the battles I have faced throughout my life…I have struggled with pride in who God has made me to be. At times I have mistakenly thought that who I am and what I have done (that is good) has come out the “greatness” of me. But whenever those lies become too big the Lord is always faithful to tell me the truth; that who I am and what I do comes from His grace. He is the one who made me, gave me gifts, abilities, experiences all of which make me who I am today and enable me to do the things I do. And furthermore, my life is ultimately important only as I fit into His body, because what good is a pinky finger if it’s not connected to a hand that is connected to the arm of a person’s body?I have recently been realizing in a new way the power of working with others in a team. This new insight has been most obvious to me in marriage to Chelsea. Chelsea and I are both children of the living God who have been re-created in Christ for the good works He planned for us to do (Eph. 2:10)! We are complete only as we work in community. Between Chelsea and I, we do not possess many of the spiritual gifts listed in Scripture, but she is gifted in wonderful ways that I am not and the opposite is also true. So as we serve together we are able to serve more effectively as we share tasks and each of us do the part we were created for! In Rwanda, we are absolutely blessed to be working with a team of missionaries and Rwandan leaders, each of us created uniquely and specifically to be part of one unit of the Body of Christ. Together we are much more complete and much more able than when we are apart. Together we have many of the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in the group! Together we can discern God’s will more clearly, together we are much more wise in making decisions. Together, as we love and serve each other we have leaders, helpers, administrators, wise people, teachers, prophetic gifts, evangelistic gifts, those with deep faith and many more! Together, as we work in unity God is glorified much more completely than when I try to work on my own! So, I am in the process (that will probably continue for the rest of my life on Earth) of trying to discern from the Lord what particular part He has made me to fill in the body at this time and in this place. [Do you know what gifts God has given you and the role to which He is asking you to fill in the body right now?] May each of us find the role that God has for us so that we may be a part of bringing Jesus’ prayer into reality…”May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”
