Lisa Is Here

Lisa’s train was scheduled to arrive here at 2:00 a.m. Saturday; her train finally pulled in a bit after 3:30. I typed this last evening and now I’ll post it before I go back to bed. You’ll know she arrived safely and all is well. Maybe we’ll be able to sleep in. We’re so excited about the 48 hours she’ll be here with us. (Yes, we’ll be returning to the train station at 2:00 a.m. Monday.)

Remember the young musician in West Africa who was beaten almost to death because he had become a Christian? There’s a group still intent on killing him, so he’s in hiding. News like this makes me so thankful for the freedoms we enjoy, and it also puts me in a deep-thinking mode. Why should some people have to suffer so much for their faith? Well, it’s always been like this. In preparation for the Sunday school lesson (Zechariah 7 and 8), I also did a little reading in a related section of Ezra 6 (verses 6-12). King Darius back east, by now the absolute sovereign of the known world, is writing to the secular governor of the region surrounding Jerusalem, where a ragtag bunch of returned Jewish exiles are trying to rebuild the Temple. Amazingly, Darius tells the governor to help them in every way, including feeding them and paying all the construction bills. What’s this pagan, idol-worshiping foreign king doing, anyway? Why?

Then I remembered that Darius had been converted to the worship of the one true God (Daniel 6:25-28), after God preserved Daniel’s life all night in a pit filled with hungry lions. Daniel did a lot of good things in his long and faithful life, but the very most helpful thing may have been getting thrown to the lions. (Reason: he refused to obey the king’s orders to stop praying to the true God; in fact, he persisted boldly and publicly.) He was willing to die for his faith, but in this case that didn’t happen. And it all resulted in Darius’ conversion and subsequent support of the Temple reconstruction, with all that that meant for the spiritual lives of the people of God. I can’t be glad when a Christian brother or sister is persecuted. But I can pray that God, by his grace, will turn it all around for good.

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Carol