The word “evangelism” has been misused in so many
ways that it has become a “bad news” for some.
Yet it is the essence of who we are and why we are here. As we study this quarter’s Sabbath School
lessons we were reminded every week that Jesus had sent his followers on the
Mission to “GO!” and it is not
optional!
This week I read a story that is heartwarming, and
an illustration of what GOING and CARING does.
Honolulu, Hawaii-based photographer and
law student Diana Kim traces her love of photography back to her father, who
used to own a photography studio on O'ahu.
When she was only 5, that’s 25 years ago, her parents separated. She stayed at relatives homes, friends, even
had to live in parks and cars. Yet she
emerged successful person, having family of her own, husband and two sons,
pursuing her passion for photography and law.
12 years ago, in 2003, as a student she started initiative dedicated to
humanizing the homeless by sharing their stories, as she herself identified
with their struggle. She continued her
work by going to the Law School. In 2012 while documenting homeless people on
the streets of Honolulu, Kim came across her own father. The man who she
remembered abandoning her as a child was now homeless, unwashed, dressed in
rags, and extremely thin. Worst of all, he didn't even recognize her. For the next two years, Kim kept returning to
the street that her father called home. Sometimes he would be there, sometimes
he wouldn't. Afflicted by severe schizophrenia, he was often unresponsive, or
would argue intensely with the empty space in front of him. He refused to get
treatment, take medication, eat, bathe, or wear any of the new clothes she
brought him. In 2014, she got a call
from her cousin. Her father had suffered a heart attack. He was found face-down
on the sidewalk, but someone called the police, and he was rushed to critical
care at the hospital. When she visited
him at the hospital with her husband, just as they were about to leave, the homeless
father opened his eyes and called her name “Diana." She did not give up on him, and he got his
“second chance.”
There are
people in our families who need the “Second chance.” There are friends and neighbours who are lost
and don’t know it. Jesus says “GO” and
as you go give the GOOD NEWS. Preacher,
Dr.Mark Rutland, president of Global Servants ministry, shares a survey of
words people in America love to hear. #1
“I love you.” #2 “I forgive you.” #3 “Supper is ready!” We love to come home J & that’s the essence of the Gospel, that’s
what the Evangelism is all about. That’s
what people need to hear – God loves you, expressed through your personal
caring love for them. They won’t believe
you God Loves them if they do not experience that love from you! People need to hear that they are forgiven,
and experience by us also forgiving. God
is also inviting us all to his Wedding Supper of Christ Soon Coming. Come Home, where you would be homeless no
more! In this world of brokenness and
violence, where misplaced migrants are looking for shelters, where mental
health is under assault every where all people need the good news that they are
loved, forgiven, and have a promised home.
Hope is the Gospel. Please GO and
love people.
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