An
Inkling
Saturday
I returned home from a two-week trip to England and central Asia. The sights of new places are always
fascinating – buildings and landscapes.
But they can’t compete with the people.
I’m still pondering in particular on some pastors I met.
In
England I met Paul and Brian at a conference on the Holy Spirit. They labor with faithfulness and joy in a
Presbyterian denomination that is a theological and institutional shell of its
former self. The vibrant presence of the
Spirit in them is all the more striking because of the spiritually bleak place
where they live.
In
central Asia I met Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (I’ll not use their real names on the
internet, lest association with me imperil them in their repressive land.) Their place of service is even more
spiritually barren than Paul and Brian’s.
The long shadows of the Soviet era still linger, along with the even
longer shadows of a pervasive Islamic national identity. Yet these men and their churches are filled
with a joy and vitality that shout the glories of the Lord. It was a great privilege just to keep company
with them.
I
returned to Richmond just as the spring flowers are budding. One of the reasons I love it here is that Virginia
is so verdant. Blossoming trees and vast
flowerbeds surround us, offering an endless feast for the eyes.
Yet
there is a special beauty to blossoms in barren places. Their colors and forms stand out all the more
for being in such stark settings. The
pastors I met on this trip stand out in just such a way. The Lord is never without his witnesses. And it is beautiful to behold.
Blessings,
Keith
