In The Tongue of Men and Angels

I am back now - back from my whirlwind attempt at eclipsing the different worlds that exists on this earth of ours. It is hard sometimes to grasp how two places and cultures so different from each other can coexist on the same planet, and yet there are actually far more than just two differing cultures and places – we live on a remarkably diverse ball of orbiting inconsistencies. Modern travel (with its unlimited movies which make 14 hours fly by in a blur of mindless entertainment) has made the clashing of cultures bizarrely easy. Walking through any hub of international travel is like finding oneself in a cultural kaleidoscope – jalabiya wearing Arabs and miniskirt clad Europeans brush shoulders with sari shrouded Asians and no one seams to notice; the world is moving, and moving so fast it hardly has time to appreciate the beauty of the mix.
It was wonderful to spend time with so many friends and family members during my short stay in the US. I wish I could have spent much more time catching up with everyone that I was able to see – not to mention those I wasn’t able to see!
As I begin this next year I have been challenged by a verse from 1 Corinthians 13. While in the states I was at a friend’s wedding (which, by the way, was very beautiful) and one of the passages read during the ceremony was 1 Corinthians 13. As I listened to the passage being read I was really hit by verse three which says, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing”. It struck me as a challenge and warning – I am here, working with those who have suffered and who are poor by any standard and it is easy to get caught up in the actions of helping the poor while forgetting that the reason I am here in the first place is to shine the love of my King to those around me.
I often feel guilty when people tell me that the work I do is an inspiration to them and I think this is perhaps because I recognize how easy it is to fill our lives with actions that look good on the outside but are hollow on the inside. There are countless days when I simply go through the motions of life without giving a second thought as to why I am doing those things, and yet we are called to so much more. We are told that love must be sincere and so my prayer for this next year is that I would not simply live among the poor but love among the poor; that I would not simply go through my days acting out a calling but would remember each day the wonderful love that has been given to me to pour out on others.