We were there, at that huge gathering in Bloemfontein. We, who are kind of hermits. Not liking crowds. And I am hesitant to put words to something that was undescribable. But I will try... I asked myself what happened there in Bloem. What was so significant? It was not about the man who had the task to make the call. To bring the people together. To lead us all. I think the power was in the unity. The one vision. No division, no denominations, no race, no political orientation. But as people. Together. In the dust. On our knees. With no answers. No clever solutions for the mess we are in. Not asking for specific outcomes. But humbling ourselves so that God can work. (We so easily block Him with our dualistic minds, dividing everything into boxes and labels.) But there we were without words. Nothing to show off. No masks to wear. I never experienced such a hushed crowd. For six hours in the sun, sweaty and dusty. Hearts to get still. Tears to flow. When we knelt in the dust I didn't have words. I was overcome. By God. By the vastness of Him, His love. Many times throughout the day I looked up at the blue sky above. Not being able to grasp the beginning or end. That was the sense I had of God's infiniteness... At one stage I sat on the nearby hill and saw the people like little ants below me. So far as the eye could see. People streaming in over the autumn grasslands. And I knew that each of them had their own story. That each had their own road they were on, that brought them up to that place and time. With each one, God was busy walking the road. I was overwhelmed by the hearts of the people. Showing there neediness of a God who is in control. Dying to their own schemes and plans. Because the teachings of Jesus challenge us in days like these: to turn the other cheek, to love our enemy. And it was as if we were brought to a place of deep humility. To first look into our own heart. To see the sin, the need. Not to blame, but to die to self. To lay down our own will, our own preferences. To let God be God and to be still... My prayer for our country, as well as all humanity, is for us to be transformed into His image, like we are meant to be. So that God's light can shine in this dark world, through us, His body... as one light, in unity.
1 Comment
Lizelle
5/18/2017 05:58:16 am
Praying with you my friend!
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