“....For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” 1 Corinthians 4:9b
“Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that...they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:12
I have been unable to shake the awesome truth of the above verses and the responsibility that it puts upon us as believers over the last 10 days or so since we studied them. Christy and I have been working our way through the writings of Paul to the Corinthians with a specific focus on his attitude toward and instructions relating to ministry. We felt that it would be especially beneficial to us at this beginning stage of ministry in our new area of Bunbonayili. It has been rich in every way so far and has both encouraged and convicted our hearts as we have studied the way that Paul ministered and his deep grasp of the calling and responsibility of ministry. When we read the verse about being a spectacle, we looked up the word ‘spectacle’ in the Greek and found it to be theatron, the word from which we derive our modern word theatre! Then we found that the Greek word for ‘behold’ in the second verse carries with it the connotation of inspecting something. Somehow adding these new English words to our understanding of these verses made them come alive in a new way as the word pictures of a theatre and an inspector impressed themselves on our hearts over the next few days. Dear brothers and sisters, as the redeemed of the Lord we are a theatre for the world! We are left in this world to be a place where those who hunger for truth can come and inspect the truth in living form by observing our lives. It is true that not all that watch our lives will have an open heart, and many will turn away from us in derision, so in that way we are a spectacle, an object for scorn and laughter. Yet we continue on, living the life of Jesus on this earth, with the sincere prayer and desire that through viewing our grace-enabled, godly lives those who look on would one day glorify God! I write, dear ones, not out of unbroken success, but out of at least a little glimpse of our responsibility to God and a dying world. I am, through repeated meditation on these verses becoming more aware of my own failure to consistently portray the lovely character of Jesus. My prayer is that together we could somehow grasp the incredible importance that is attached to our everyday lives because of the audience that is constantly watching and studying our conduct, and that we would stand on the theatre of life humbly but boldly, not ashamed of the testimony of Jesus. May we recognize that the world is looking to see whether there is any difference between us and the average man, and if there is a difference, to discover what has changed us. Oh, that God would enable us to live lives that proclaim through both the mundane and the crisis that we have been revolutionized by the love and power of God. Our dear Savior certainly deserves this living tribute to His love and sacrifice on our behalf!
In Bunbonayili
As was mentioned in the recent article about our house, we have now settled into our new home at Bunbonayili. We are enjoying being ‘permanent’ and knowing that we are among the people that we are called to minister to. For us the move was more than just taking up residence in our new house, as we have looked forward to putting down roots in our relationships with neighbors, etc. in a place where we knew that we could have a long term influence. We were somewhat limited in this during our months at Saboba as we knew that we would be moving on. There is an edge of anticipation in our hearts as we meet our fellow-villagers and wonder if maybe this one will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. Now that most of our furniture building and other small projects are done we are moving back in to language learning. We are focusing first on review because of our long interval of very little active study while we finished up the house and moved in, then after we get back to our earlier level of proficiency, we will continue to push forward in further study. We look forward to using our practice times to build relationships in the village which will help us to become an accepted part of the community. The people have been very quick to welcome us to their village, begging us that we would settle here with all of our future generations, assuring me that they would gladly give land for all of my sons as they are born! Though many do not seem to grasp the deeper reasons for which we are here among them, we rejoice in their welcome and desire to be a part of them in every way possible. They absolutely delight in hearing us say that we are Konkombas!
As we have looked at our lives during the past week from the perspective of the above verses, we have noted that we have some added opportunities and challenges because of being on a foreign field. Our culture and color are unique here and because of this we are often observed nearly full-time and the importance of consistent Christ-like responses is magnified by this fact. We have many interested onlookers in everything that we do, and while we recognize that many are largely interested in seeing the way that we do things, that in no way takes away from the fact that we are ‘on stage’ for their observation not only of our strange mannerisms but also of the spirit we carry and of our responses to difficulties. We are striving to see the continual ‘eyes’ around us as an opportunity to maximize and not a nuisance to run from. We desire in a deep way to live, work, and minister in a way that as they inspect every aspect of our lives, nothing that they see would turn them away from the gospel that we preach but rather that our lives would be one of the greatest magnets toward Christ that they have ever encountered. We desire your support in prayer in this strategically important part of our work here.
In Bilisinga
Another ministry and avenue of blessing that has opened up for us because of our move to Bunbonayili has been the church at Bilisinga and the work in surrounding villages. This work was begun by Brother Mel and continued by Brother Daryl until recently when it was handed over to me because of us being closer now—and to help relieve the heavy workload that Daryl is carrying while Mel and his wife are on furlough. A fuller account of the history and a more detailed description of the work in Bilisinga will have to wait until the next article which should come out in about a month, but I wanted to share a bit of the blessing that we experienced assisting in and performing a baptism there recently. The work in the Bilisinga area has largely been carried out by the national brothers because of the distance from Gushiegu and time constraints on the missionaries stationed there. This has turned out to be a real blessing to the church as they have been forced to mature quickly into both witnesses to their people and leaders in the church. This has resulted in several of them being the ones who led their wives to the Lord, and one of the greatest blessings of the baptism was to stand in the water with one of my dear Konkomba brothers as we baptized his own wife and mother, his children in the faith!! Praise God!
One of the most encouraging aspects of the work in Bilisinga is the growing testimony that the church has among the local villagers. As the applicants were visited in their homes to hear their testimonies prior to baptism, their neighbors also crowded around to see what was going on. The testimony of their changed lives was confirmed by the onlookers who affirmed a noted change in the person’s life! Any fault or sin that the person was still struggling with was also mentioned, and it was very clear that the lives of the members of this young church are being subjected to much scrutiny. The local people know that there is a difference in their lives and in a setting like this where so little of the gospel has ever penetrated, we rejoice in the clear lines that are being drawn.
In yet another application to the thought of being a theater to the world, I think back to the baptism in the small dam where the village collects its water. The dam was only half-full so the sides of it formed a natural ‘theatre’ for the church and onlookers who came to observe this unusual sight, the first baptism that they had ever seen. This natural theatre signified the spiritual one that was in use as the neighbors observed this holy and beautiful scene and noted the joy and yet solemn attitude in which these fellow tribesmen sealed their faith in baptism. May God preserve a holy testimony among these villages through the blameless lives of these believers.
In Baltimore
In closing, my thoughts turn to all of you there, and I can not help but think of how the theater concept applies to your lives. I know that for many of you, your decision to follow Christ no matter what has removed you from the cultural norms of American society, and because of this you may oftentimes feel like you are ‘on stage’ wherever you go. I had to think of the youth group from my home church (Charity) as they occasionally go down to Baltimore to witness on the streets. The thought of our pure, modest, young ladies and strong, godly, young men walking down the streets of that ungodly city, being and representing the exact opposite of all that the city is, brings to mind the thought of a parade. Indeed, many would think that is what they are. But, in reality they are a theatre before a godless world, and as they walk and witness, those hungry for light are drawn to the beauty of Christ in them!
A Theater for the World!
As I’ve thought of all of this in relation to the verses at the beginning of this article, I realized again that whether through normal missionary living at Bunbonyaili, a national church baptism at Bilisinga, or godly young people on the streets of Baltimore, God’s people are a spectacle, a theater of observation for the world lost in darkness and sin. Oh that we would, in our various areas of influence, be a fitting testimony to God’s grace in our lives! My prayer is that these thoughts would challenge and encourage you in the way that they have me and that maybe because of our meditations, our “conversation among the Gentiles” would be more pure and holy, more fitting of the name that we bear here in Africa and that you carry there in America, Christians!!
On stage for God in Ghana,
Daniel & Christy
