We Are Not Alone
By Cara Taylor
Director of Outreach
Blogging is so odd because I hope to connect my experience with yours, but we are separated in time and space. Whether we are engaging publicly online or working from home, our modern reality can lack the genuine connection we need. To affirm the personal, unconditional, extravagant love of God in the face of our loneliness, some have said that even if you were the only one on earth, Jesus would have given his life for you. But the Bible has an even better promise than that… God made human beings who multiply, and he sent his son to live among us because he so loved the world. [1] Our outreach visit to New Delhi brought this truth into the glowing Indian light of day for me. And I am hoping the Festival of Hope this weekend can bring a new perspective for you, too. When we know we are loved, we give and receive that love in real relationships near and far.
Knowing that God sees our suffering, we grieve, and we heal together.
A little girl tapped on the car window as we waited at a traffic light. I knew not to make eye contact because encouraging begging puts her in danger, but my heart broke. It’s estimated that 30 million children in India are alone, and Christian group homes have been shut down by the Hindu nationalist government. I would have no peace if I didn’t know that God still sees them and cares for them when I cannot. But how? I saw it in their neighborhood.
We visited a house church in the slums, the size of my bedroom and full of 30 children, where the pastor had once been a street boy himself. A beautiful young woman who had lost her family helped the children with their work. One boy proudly showed us a stack of his art. These believers knew that the love they received was meant to be shared. As more and more of the discarded population of Delhi come to faith, they need space and funds which they do not have, and which can no longer come through foreign church aid. But it can come through local jobs and businesses that are choosing to share their profits with ministry efforts.
How we spend our money can simply supply our own needs and wants, or we can shop as an act of remembering that others are suffering and participating in their healing. Global trade can hurt or help people. At Festival of Hope, you can purchase from Indian artisans to support a thriving domestic economy. Jesus told stories about generosity and about commerce. He wants us to give and also to spend with a mindset that elevates others. I love that Chapel Hill encourages both!
Knowing that God forgives, we reconcile and dignify others.
When we form friendships across political boundaries, across culture, across prison walls, or across economic lines, we live out our shared identity as the family of God, who has shown us mercy in Christ. Everyone gets an invitation to the banquet, and we are the servants asked to deliver it. [2]
Our Thailand team is coming together to visit the prison ministry in Bangkok in February. The House of Blessing project includes both a worshiping community and vocational training so people can re-enter society with life-giving relationships and a living wage. Festival of Hope has many affordable gift items from Thailand that will help raise funds for this team.
Our student Mexico team is also forming. While the nation roils about border issues, we get to enjoy real friendship in safe, church-based community projects that teach our next generation how to live in peace and unity and share the gospel with our neighbors. At Festival of Hope, buy a bottle of West Bank olive oil made by Israelis and Arabs together and help fund students called to God’s mission to all peoples.
As Pastor Julie preached last weekend, the Father wants a FULL house (Luke 14:23)! I look forward to a full house tomorrow!
Cara
[1] Genesis 1:28, 2:18; John 1:14, 3:16
[2] “And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.'” (Luke 14:23).