People Are People Are People

That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.Upon my return from our recent missionary trip to India, multiple people asked me the same question, “Was this a life-changing event for you, or what?” My answer, though maybe unexpected, was “no”. Now before you make any wrong assumptions, like, “this man’s constitution is impermeable” or “his eyes and heart must have been closed for a week”, please hear me out. If anything, my heart was splayed out all the more, more open as a function of the experience itself. And as was the case with Solomon’s wisdom above, I realized that no matter where a person travels in this world, whether it’s next door to a neighbor’s or literally to the opposite side of God’s green earth, people are people are people.Every person I have ever met is a walking dichotomy. What I mean to say is that the more I understand the mind of Christ, the Word of God (as Wisdom will have it - ala Proverbs 1), the more clearly I am able to witness the inner struggles of man, including my own, of course. For starters, every person, whether saved or not, has a flesh.As it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”This is not to mar my trip to India with some new realization about the depravity of man (the trip itself was tremendously fruitful in many ways - praise be to God!). I’m merely stating that while I was there, I wasn’t blind to the full spectrum of mankind and the evidence of his oft-dueling natures, the old and the new. While no one necessarily rejoices in having to deal with the ungodly flesh of men, there is light in Holy Scripture that allows us to discern it when we see it.But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.The idea of something being “exposed” implies a real experience. In some cases it’s merely a change of perspective, something that can happen by simply reading the Bible and having the Spirit reveal something new to you. However, in other cases, said experience is a function of physical circumstances.When you live on one side of the planet, it’s impossible to fully experience the presence of someone on the opposite side. Given the fact that man is a complex creature, we might conclude that pictures, emails, and even phone calls pale in comparison to face-to-face interactions. We may theorize that a person is this or that, and through faith we might believe it. However, face-to-face contact enhances that which we believe to be true, like salt adds flavor to food.Firsthand exposure is often the basis of a truly enlightening experience. As most of you will attest, there’s no substitute for experience. In the case of a disciple like myself, a missionary trip results in increased “exposure”, and therefore, light. This light produces a certain kind of wisdom...while it’s not necessarily new, it’s extremely valuable because it’s weighty.

Affirmation. Yes, that’s the right word here.It’s the word I used with my eldest son as we’d chat privately throughout the trip. As I alluded to earlier, it’s one thing to know something, it’s another to experience it - ’tis why I encourage people to resist ever being overcome with idleness. “Because of laziness the building decays, and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18 - NKJV). Life is meant to be lived - so go live it! If that statement confounds you, leaving you pirouetting, that just means that you’ve forgotten your purpose in life. Here, let me help:You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Jesus, Himself, encourages us to resist becoming idle, for as the secular analog to Ecclesiastes 10:18 goes, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop!” “Let your light shine before men” is something many of the folks I came into contact with on my trip seemed to understand.Culturally, I found the Indian believers quite hospitable. I also found them to be gentle, kind, attentive, supportive, and above all, loving (although their expression of said love was sometimes markedly different than in America). (For the record, I’m not just basing my observations on my interactions with my hosts, for I know there was a concentrated amount of such things. We spent a fair amount of time simply traveling, giving us plenty of time to soak in our surroundings. The list above was apparent even between Indian nationals.)Now to be fair, I also noticed the same old fleshly tendencies that I am very accustomed to at home, such as partiality, greed, religion, jealousy, and malcontent, to name a few. Was I thrown back or disappointed? May it never be! I wholly expected to see such things - that’s the point of this blog! The “good” part, which is the value of the experience itself, was being able to see both good and evil manifest in a vastly different set of circumstances. This is what it means to be privy to the “light”.As I teach from my pulpit, the objective is to “see it all as truth...the good, the bad, the ugly” because the truth is always better than a lie, even if it’s a hard pill to swallow.My motivation for writing this blog entry is to encourage you. While you may find yourself in a different part of the world someday, just know that if your eyes are opened wide, and your heart is set on seeking truth, you’ll see what I see in the end.People are people are people.They’ve been the same since the fall in the Garden of Eden. While dealing with human flesh can be discouraging, overall we can be encouraged as long as our expectations are appropriately set.The good news is that when God calls you abroad by faith there will always be some who love Jesus the way you do. Concentrations may vary, but you’ll always find loving brethren if you look hard enough. For example, I met a lot of people in India whose light seemed to outshine my own, which was truly humbling, frankly. I loved every moment because I found it both refreshing and inspiring, being from one of the areas in America (the northeast) that has been dubbed the least Bible-oriented part of the country. So, in that phrase, “people are people are people”, I’m not just droning on about having to endure human flesh. This isn’t a pity party. Included in that catchphrase are a whole lot of people whom I cannot wait to spend eternity with! These are the same people who consistently went out of their way to express their gratitude to me for feeding them the Word of God. Many of them served my son and I tirelessly. Even when we woke up at odd times, we’d have the most delicious coffee waiting for us within minutes. It’s the little things that reveal a person’s heart...the things they do for others when nobody else is watching, or even awake yet to do so!I thank God that He showed me His heart through the many servants I met on our trip. For they embodied that which we know to be true.We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.Please, by all means, do not just take my word for it. Make a point of experiencing life itself. Enjoin others to do the same. Be encouraged by each other’s faith along the way (Romans 1:12). Who cares if we fail each other sometimes - what do we expect, given our flesh??? There’s no substitute for experience, especially when it comes to living for others; so, go get it!Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.If you ask me if a trip to the other side of the planet is a life-changing experience, I’ll say “no”...but I won’t want you to walk away at that. There’s so much more to life than just so-called “new experiences” in the traditional sense. There’s a whole lot of opportunity to have our faith affirmed as we simply live out our lives as unto the Lord. Few things are sweeter than that.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins