I arrived in America in 1995. Because my wife is a native of Portland and the fact that her family lives in the area, we decided to make Portland our home.
After three days at my in-laws, I decided to take the bus to downtown Portland. When I told the blond lady bus-driver I had just been in America three days, she exclaimed, “Welcome to GOD’s country!” I got off at the last stop near the main train station, by the Rescue Mission. This was my first impression of a city in America. On my way back, the driver stopped the bus because of a young teenager toting a gun. Again I thought, “They do call it the Wild-West!” Maybe it was due to these first impressions that my wife and I started a ministry to the Portland area street-kids and youth-at-risk. This ministry lasted about 10 years. Many young people joined us to help and we got very close to some of them. In our hearts, we were doing something for God and so were they. During our summer ministry tour this year, trip we have had the opportunity to reconnect with some of these young people that worked with us. We were surprised to see that while some had kept their relationship with God some others didn’t, and even grew bitter against Him. Indeed many things can affect our attitude towards God. As I wrote in a previous article, we are often mad at God because He didn’t do such-and-such that we expected Him to do, when actually the “such-and-such” were not things God had promised to do. We often fail to read the ‘contract’ that we have with Him. While angry, people say that they reject God and don’t want to have anything to do with Him. This is not unbelief; this is anger. That is why it is important that our relationship with Him be not based on false premises or promises. Preachers who promise the ‘moon’ to potential believers actually do a disservice to the cause because God has never promised us the ‘moon’. But even more than that, what is ‘true faith’?True faith is like getting married. A wise husband-to-be will not promise the ‘moon’. He doesn’t know what the future holds. Like with any healthy marriage, our union with God can never be conditional to happiness, health, or wealth. The knowledge that we are united with our Creator should also have nothing to to do with format, practices, or doctrines; only as the Good Book tells us, “Faith working through love.” (Gal 5:6 ESV) The Good Book also tells us of those ancient patriarchs who died in faith seeming to never have received what God had promised to them. That’s true faith, faith that is not dependant on the answer, but on obedient love. I am reminded of the three Judean captives who were asked to bow down before an idol. As true followers of God, they couldn't do that and were to be thrown into a fiery furnace. so they said to their oppressor, “...Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, .... But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." (Dan 3:17-18 ESV)
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