A Message from Johan
"When you go back to America, you warn your church. You tell them. Don't forget."
I had an intense desire for a blizzard yesterday during our prayer walk. So, while Jayda and Kristen were grocery shopping, I headed to the little DQ stand in the mall and got my kit kat ice cream. Satisfied, I looked for a seat because I told the girls I'd wait for them. There was one table with four chairs around it and one of the chairs was occupied. As I sat down our conversation started like this:
"Where are you from?"
America.
"I'm sorry."
I kind of laughed to make an attempt at getting the awkwardness out of the air and thought "oh no" in my head. Turns out Johan was joking and he quickly struck up a conversation.
He was born in Denmark but lived in Germany for fifteen years and, when I asked if he was on vacation in Thailand, he told me:
"My wife and I have been on holiday here for thirty years. Some people go for three weeks, we go for thirty years."
I laughed. He told me about his bungalow on the beach and how they rent out rooms to their friends when they come to visit. He handed me a business card and told me to bring my friends to have a cup of coffee. He had traveled all over Thailand with his wife and he was 72 years old.
"What are you doing here?"
I told him the whole story right away.
"Oh, you're a Christian."
Yes sir. I am.
"I believe. But I'm a bad Christian."
Why do you think that?
And this was the moment Johan began to tell his story. He grew up Roman Catholic and, for the first twenty years of his life, he went to mass every week with his parents. Then he moved to Germany with his wife and took a trucking job. Because of his work he started to miss church at times, to which his friends and the people of the church told him he had sinned, he was a bad Christian.
Then he got frustrated, he teared up a little, and told me story after story of corruption of the Catholic church in Europe. He told me about a girl that he knew who was raped and when they took her to the Catholic hospital they refused to do a check up, they told her that she might be pregnant and if they found out they would have to tell her. Because she might consider abortion they decided to "save" her from that sin by refusing her medical care.
He told me about little children being condemned because they lived on the streets and stole food to keep themselves alive.
"What else would a child do? Starve to death? Why was the church condemning him? Why was no one helping him?"
When Johan and his wife tried to adopt years ago the agency refused them because the bedrooms did not have enough space. He teared up again.
"Is it better to live in an orphanage? We just wanted to help. Why was the width of the bedroom so important?"
I was just listening to this man who deemed himself a bad Christian because he had missed a church service.
Kristen had come to meet me by now and she said, "Our church doesn't have walls. I am the church. She is the church. We follow Jesus wherever he goes. Our church is everywhere He is."
"What is the name of your church?"
We smiled, looked at each other, and said,
We follow Jesus.
Johan was instantly intrigued. He started asking questions and commenting how he'd never heard of this church before.
"I go to northern Thailand and see people starving. And I cannot change it. I cannot help. That is my problem with religion. Why? I don't understand why."
The world is messed up. People sin.
"I saw a five year old boy in Brazil, you follow Jesus and you follow the commandments, it's easy for you because you can. But I saw a five year old boy in Brazil who stole from a store because he lived on the streets. He broke the commandments. Why? Why was he all by himself? Why does the church say he is bad? This is my problem."
I finally looked at this deeply troubled man and said,
In a perfect world that little boy would never have to steal because the church would help him. In a perfect world everyone would love each other. But the world isn't perfect.
"But what can you do? You cannot change it. I cannot change it."
I can change it for one person. And for the person after that. And the person after that.
"Yes, yes that is good. But I watch Catholic choir on television in northern Thailand. So many people singing. And I was a little bit jealous because I couldn't sing."
That threw me for a loop. What did he mean, he had a bad singing voice?
"They have money and an education and a home. They have food and happiness. They can sing. In your western church you can sing. But there is no singing in northern Thailand. Why? They cannot sing."
He wasn't talking about the physical ability to sing, he was talking about joy. A joy that, according to this man, did not exist in northern Thailand and did not exist in many other places in the world. He was tormented and puzzled at the thought of all these people who could not sing.
We bring that joy there. We show people why we sing. We don't sing because we have money or houses or families. We do not sing because of religion. We sing because we have Jesus. We just love people. That's all we can do, we love people.
He smiled, his smile faded quickly:
"When you go back to America you warn your church. You tell them. Don't forget. You warn them about the church in Europe. You warn them about religion."
And so church, are you loving people? I'm doing just as Johan asked. I'm warning you. Are you open and willing and accepting and loving? Church, are you following Jesus or are you stuck in your walls? One person cannot change the world, but the church can because Jesus can. Do not get caught up in religion but instead turn your focus to Jesus. Do not get caught up in issues and labels and "which sin is worse than the other." Don't get caught up in church attendance on Sunday or the baptism counts each month. Just follow Jesus. And all Jesus asks is that you love God and love your neighbor.
Once you've heard you can no longer pretend you do not know. You've been warned. You are accountable. Johan has had countless guests talk about religion in his home and he had never heard of our church. It's about time that we start being His hands and feet.
Come on church, let's show them Jesus.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philospophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
-Colossians 2:8-
Well put Nik, well put. 🙂
This is great Nikki, you have pretty much hit your Grandfathers beliefe on the head, He has said this for years.
Thank you Nikki. I will warn the church and call us to be His hands and feet. You are a gifted writer–I’m inspired by each of your posts.
Joe
Heart-rending.
such a good reminder that it’s just about loving the one in front of us. so simple, and yet…we mess it up so much of the time.
thank you for the push to get back to the basics.
love you, nikki!