After John the Baptist was thrown in prison he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the Messiah
we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?"
This verse popped into my mind this morning as I read the New York Times and the story of thousands of Congolese fleeing their homes in the east of Congo as the threat of civil war pounds the fertile hills of the Congo. The two pictures by Lynsey Addario I have included tell a bit of the sad story.
The people in this part of Congo, for the most part, are Christian. In fact, hundreds of Western missionaries shared the Gospel in this region of Africa in the last 50 years. And this Christmas season, life-long residents are fleeing as civil war threatens their very lives. So sad.
Jesus told John’s disciples to go back and tell him the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear and good news is preached to the poor. "And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.’"
As in the days when John the Baptist was in prison, the Kingdom of God is pushing ahead even today. It may not look like it; it may not feel like it; in fact, the opposite looks true much of the time. But God’s Kingdom is advancing — sometimes powerfully, often imperceptibly but always relentlessly.
So we just keep praying "Your Kingdom come; Your Will be done." We never give up. God’s will is being done. He will come back soon. Don’t give up.
[Take a look at this photo essay in the New York Times of the people in Congo fleeing their homes.]
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