Tears for Fears

The Smith's are wonderful people. They had us over to their house in order to share with a few families what the Lord is doing in Japan. As the evening began I was surprised to see a few Asian faces among the group. "I had not one christian freind growing up," Explained a Japanese lady. "There were simply none around!"
I couldn't help but be affected by her fears. The shear degree of her isolation as a Christian in Japanese culture is astounding. The collectivist culture makes it difficult for anyone to change beliefs, she explained. It is an offense upon the honor of the family to accept other traditions as being valid besides the families. This cultural norm created a rift in her life between her and her father. Finally after much agony the Lord spoke to her heart through a period of 10 years and a verse which we might think abscure, Luke 9:60 " Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.", to show her that The Lord is Lord! Through this she was able to be confident that her societal disobedient to her Father was obedience to Christ.
This really encouraged me toward several things. First not to judge or be too harsh with those who struggle with obedience...10 years... what kind of time scale and how quickly I get impatient with my own sanctification. Let us perserveare! And second how good it is to let the stories of others sink down into our hearts. To weight and ponder what it must be like to have lived in such isolation. Let us shed tears for her fears. But all of this would be for nothing if the Lord's word were not powerful. The Lord said I will build my kingdom and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I usually think of this in the global sense that the Gospel is prevailing among the nations, but there is also a personal individual implication. Look at how God's Word prevailed in her life over her the path that her fears sought to make her captive to!