If we truly believe in the forgiveness of sins, then we will inevitably gain a deep appreciation and joy for what God has done for us. Too many times in our life we might feel lukewarm or even apathetic about the love of God. After the sermon yesterday, I found myself reflecting on this challenge and how to overcome it. I recalled seeing a wonderful example having to do with Christian outreach.
This powerful example of the joy of the gospel was detailed in a documentary with the Mouk tribe of Papua New Guinea. Missionary Mark Zook shared the story of Jesus with a tribe who had no previous knowledge of the bible–no churches, no printed bibles, no previous encounters with Christian missionaries. In other words, they were hearing the gospel preached by another person for the first time.
In the climax of the documentary, Zook tells them that Jesus took on our sins and died for us. We are forgiven and gifted new life because of Christ’s actions for us. Here’s a brief clip of how the people responded:
You can also watch the full 23-minute documentary here. The entire story truly leaves me speechless and awestruck at who God is. If we truly understand who God is, we would be jumping for joy, too, just like the brothers and sisters in Christ we see in the video clip.
Ideally, when we hear God’s good news, we would be filled with so much joy that this leads to us being transformed. Instead of being jaded or angry, we give way to the moving of the Holy Spirit. In this way, we could learn a lot from the Mouk people, who literally danced for joy for several hours after hearing about God’s forgiveness.
Our issues with being unforgiving usually stem from us not truly grasping the weight of what Christ did for us. If we truly understood how God has forgiven us, our hearts will be warmed and joyful, just like those missionaries witnessed with the Mouk tribe.
Concord United Methodist Church 