Monday - November 11, 2013
Today I journeyed south from the picturesque slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the flat, arid and hot land of Makanya. It was quite a change. Since our General Pastoral Conference starts in Makanya tomorrow, Pastors Malyi and Leoli were traveling with me. We made the one and a half hour drive from Marangu to Moshi by taxi, where we caught a bus for the four and a half hour remainder of the journey to Makanya.
From time to time I could catch a glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance behind us, but it soon fell out of view as we journeyed south. Traveling by bus in Africa is quite an experience. At every stop, sellers from local shops stream to the bus, holding up their wares to weary travelers in the bus windows hoping to make a sale. Cold water and soda, peanuts and biscuits, oranges and bananas are all offered for sale by the vendors below. Even flashlights, reading glasses and sunglasses, watches and handkerchiefs can be found. But it is the tenacity of these vendors that continues to strike me. Generally all the sellers are polite and fair. They rush to the bus and usually complete an easy and pleasant transaction.
But there is at least one bad apple in every bunch. One vendor cheats an unsuspecting customer. A customer grabs something from a proffered box by the window as the bus is leaving the station... The examples go on and on.
This isn’t the way it is supposed to be. This isn't the way God created us. We should be able to trust our neighbor, but many times we find that we can’t. They lie, cheat, steal, vandalize and harm others. We don’t like it when people take advantage of us, speak badly about us, steal from us, or hurt us in any way. You should see some of the arguments that I have witnessed. I don’t understand everything that is being said, but I can tell when someone feels they have been cheated in a transaction, no matter what language they speak!
The sad thing is that you and I aren’t any different. We often do the same thing. We take advantage of our employer and even steal from the company we work for. Have you ever played some game on the computer at work when you should have been finishing up some project that the boss was waiting for? We may do this often and think nothing of it. “It’s not like I’m embezzling money or something” we think. But that is only an excuse for our thievery. It is thievery of our time which our employer is paying us for.
Many people don’t like the laws of God, but they are good and they are wise. God gave them to protect us from one another, because we are sinful. As fallen human beings we do what we shouldn’t do (all of us!), and we need God’s reminder of what is good and what is not. Can you even imagine what this world would be like if God hadn’t given His laws to protect us?
And thanks be to Jesus that He has carried our guilt and our sin to the cross where He took the punishment we deserved upon Himself to set us free from our debt of sin and to reconcile us with God!
Today I journeyed south from the picturesque slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the flat, arid and hot land of Makanya. It was quite a change. Since our General Pastoral Conference starts in Makanya tomorrow, Pastors Malyi and Leoli were traveling with me. We made the one and a half hour drive from Marangu to Moshi by taxi, where we caught a bus for the four and a half hour remainder of the journey to Makanya.
There was a major change in temperature and scenery between Marangu (above) and Makanya (below)!
We did get rain one day in Makanya (and even a rainbow) but it was still miserable hot!
A lone vendor with commodities perched on his head, looking for a sale beside a stopped bus in Moshi.
But there is at least one bad apple in every bunch. One vendor cheats an unsuspecting customer. A customer grabs something from a proffered box by the window as the bus is leaving the station... The examples go on and on.
This isn’t the way it is supposed to be. This isn't the way God created us. We should be able to trust our neighbor, but many times we find that we can’t. They lie, cheat, steal, vandalize and harm others. We don’t like it when people take advantage of us, speak badly about us, steal from us, or hurt us in any way. You should see some of the arguments that I have witnessed. I don’t understand everything that is being said, but I can tell when someone feels they have been cheated in a transaction, no matter what language they speak!
Many people don’t like the laws of God, but they are good and they are wise. God gave them to protect us from one another, because we are sinful. As fallen human beings we do what we shouldn’t do (all of us!), and we need God’s reminder of what is good and what is not. Can you even imagine what this world would be like if God hadn’t given His laws to protect us?
And thanks be to Jesus that He has carried our guilt and our sin to the cross where He took the punishment we deserved upon Himself to set us free from our debt of sin and to reconcile us with God!
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.”
~ Psalm 19:7-12 (NKJV) ~
In His service,
Nathanael
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