I was in Africa at my compound a while ago thinking about how things are different inside my home than outside my home. I remember, late one night my wife felt to go out and check the gate. Looking outside she found a young girl laying at the threshold of the door shivering. She brought her in, fed her, and gave her a place to sleep.
Another day, a woman came to us who had not eaten in a couple of days with her two children who were also very hungry. She wanted work. We fed her and her children and gave her a small job working around the house.
A young man, a good kid, was rejected by his father because he was the son his wife had given birth to before she married him. Subsequently, after she gave birth to two of his sons she died. After that, the man cast out the older boy (who was not his biological son) saying he was worthless. He has been living with us for several years now.
In here, people are worth a lot
I thought of how hard life was outside our gate and how different things were once you walked inside. I came to the conclusion that the difference was that outside was the world and inside, through Christ, was a little piece of heaven.
Outside our gates many don’t care if you sleep on the ground or go hungry, but inside, because of the love of God, people are valued they find compassion and sustenance. It is a like a little embassy of heaven where we do things differently because we are citizens of another land. We speak the language of kindness, we return good for evil, we give to those who cannot give back to us, and we love those whom the world discards.
The Kingdom of God is within the hearts of men. However, through loving one another we bring God’s kingdom to earth through our daily actions. As we allow God to reveal Himself to the world through our families. Invite people to experience a foretaste of the type of love, peace, and security they will find in heaven.
Be an Oasis to your family and others
Be an oasis of heaven where people refresh themselves, partaking of the Holy Spirit in us. When people come in our gates let them feel the difference. Sometimes a kind deed in an otherwise harsh world speaks more than a 100 sermons to a hungry soul.