Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Fellowship (among believers) (10/11/07)
- TITLE: Sweet Rafakit (Fellowship) | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jeremy Higle
10/18/07 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
We sit on the thinly carpeted floor in a circle and none of us want to be anywhere else than this cramped cold room. Sajid, the tall bearded man with fire in his eyes explaining the Scripture, has been demoted at work and has seen his teenage son spend two weeks in jail for sharing the Good News. Muhammed, that same son, sits to his left and reads the text aloud since his father has forgotten his glasses. Then there is Ali with the big smile spreading across his tan, wind parched face. He listens carefully since he is unable to read the words himself. He is daily ridiculed by his relatives for his new faith and his children were ejected from the government school to discourage others from listening to his testimony about Christ. His conservatively covered wife, Jasmine, sits shyly at his side trying to figure out what it means to follow Christ when she is the only woman doing so in her village. Amina, the tall confident young girl, leans forward eager to learn what she can share with her friends who know she reads the Bible. She is blessed to be a child in one of the two homes where both parents follow the Way. Amy, the young wife with her head covered according to local custom, wrestles with her young child and tries to follow the lesson. I am Jimmy, the grinning white guy. I just sit listening carefully to this language I do not fully understand.
Here in the midst of this slightly organized group the lesson is simple, the music labored, but the spirit of rafakit is thick and sweet. Each person has come here at great personal expense. There is no such thing as a nominal believer. We simply know the norm of following Him in a world that hated Him first. Each has family tension, each has lost earthly income and reputation, and each has sacrificed in a way that the world sees as insanity. But gathered here with the Comforter we feel no loss, only inexpressible gain. The cold draft, the hard floor, and the humble homily are quite invigorating to our saved and anchored souls.
The surrounding culture will oppress and persecute, but there is no dread or fear of the people outside. We do not fight against flesh and blood. Instead we are unified in the battle to shine the Light which led us out from our own personal darkness. We are well aware that there is no other rafakit for endless miles outside our door. But we also cannot forget that just a year before this group was not here. So we study the Word, pray for more harvesters, bear one another’s burdens, savor the bread we break, and look for opportunities to shine the light outside. As I said, the words in Acts do not seem so distant anymore.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
One minor suggestion: break your longer paragraphs into smaller chunks--easier on the eye.
I loved this, and I learned a great deal.