CRUMBS FOR BUILDING THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST
Gospel Reading: Luke 16:20-21
In heaven, Seraphim have their function that they accomplish correctly for the whole heavenly hosts. The same, Cherubim have also their roles that are correctly done for the whole heavenly creatures. What about the Christian Church on earth?
We are rich churches seated separately on their table in the western world and poor churches seated far away at the gate in Africa, rejected and suffering from their sores. I always picture myself with a photo of this story as I walk down to our little town of Gitega in Burundi every Friday. Friday is a great day for the poor there who rush down from their villages around to the busy center town streets where they usually hope to be welcome by a Hindi or Pakistani traders giving some money to help. They may even spend hours under the hot tropical sun waiting to be served late in the afternoon. That’s no problem for them.
From this story, I imagine Lazarus the beggar seated watching from the twenty or thirty meters far gate to see whether some crumbs are falling down from the rich man’s table. I imagine Lazarus praying silently and eagerly from a two-day hungry stomach imploring God to allow more and more crumbs to continue falling down from that table. I also imagine the rich man himself seeing the crumbs falling from his table without knowing whether the poor seated far at his gate is praying that it may happen so. And I also sometimes imagine Lazarus leaving this place silently, hungry and thirsty after hours spent there without having been served at least with a full spoon of crumbles. I mean crumbles, NOT good food; and then moving in tears towards a remote village or shanty town which he will hardly reach at midnight and sleep exhausted and drained after having said a short usual prayer: “I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God” (Psalm 17:6), just as the rich man also says it every evening! And so, the spiritually rich but materially poor Lazarus spends and ends his days and is finally carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, Abraham the One who heard God’s voice telling him to leave his homeland and go, and DID SO.
Aren’t we rich nations and people and churches? Aren’t we rich pastors, rich Bishops, rich Evangelists, rich Christian singers and athletes, rich Christian businessmen, rich, rich, rich materially? WHERE ARE OUR CRUMBS FOR THE CHRISTIAN SUFFERING CHURCHES IN THE THIRD WORLD? See, there are no new missionary callings among the youth in your churches to go to our poor nations. Did the Lord Jesus command you to cease the ministry and flee the terrorist battle front in Africa? Your economies and financial situation are falling for your accounts are keeping CRUMBS that no longer belong to you BUT TO LAZARUS the African Christian beggar! If not, does this word no longer speak to your heart as Christ said it: “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the Name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Mathew 10:42).
Servants of God in poor Africa have presently, courageously and heroically relayed you the RICH on the missionary field, heralding the Good News through limping Gospel programs on radios and TVs or on the internet as I do, etc, that fail after three or six months due to lack of those CRUMBS you refuse them to receive daily from you! This happens while North America is filled with millions consumers who stop every day at a McDonald shopping and buy a package of chips and chicken that is then half-eaten and half-thrown away. Could you calculate how many “halfs” you throw away per week and value them in dollars to know how much you could save weekly to be sent to build a church or a school or a dispensary or support an orphan and a widow in Africa? HOW MUCH CRUMBS HAVE YOU FILLED YOUR TRASHES WITH instead of sending out equal value to support the servants of God in Africa.
In response, thousands true Christian intercessors from our continent are prepared to respond to your great love and obedience to Christ through a powerful intercessory program that would defeat terrorist plans upon your nations! Do you believe this can happen? If you are the cherubim, African Christians are the seraphim and each has a role for the whole Body of Christ. “For he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” (Luke 7:5).
African Christians need big churches to bring thousand souls to knowing Christ the Savior but our efforts are short and very limited. Our Christians Strengthening Christians Ministry is willing to train thousands young African disciples and intercessors and send them over the mountains and villages. Could we do this without your crumbs? CRUMBS are what you throw away and no longer need. LET YOUR CRUMBS BUILD THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN AFRICA!
“Blessed is the servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing” (Mathew 24:46). NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO DO SO. Amen!
In Christ’s love
Bishop, Dr. Justin Baransananikiye
President,
CHRISTIANS STRENGTHENING CHRISTIANS,
http://iprayforyou.worthyofpraise.org
http://christiansstrengtheningchristian.doodlekit.com/blog
Email : baransajust@gmail.com