Christianity: Religion or Relationship?

"Do you know if you are going to heaven when you die?" Though Pete spoke in Spanish, we had repeated this process numerous times while in Peru, I knew what he was asking.

"No, I don't know for sure. It depends on what I do right, like helping other people, going to church, not saying bad things about people. Doing those things helps you to get to heaven." The words flowed with uncertainty out of the mouth of a thirty-something male Quechua Indian named Luis.

Once again, Pete, my translator and friend, waited for my words prompting his response. "If we can show you in God's word that you can know for certain when you die you will go to heaven. Would you be interested in hearing about it?"

It was about forty minutes later when all six of us (we had been joined by two Quechua women and a young boy about nine years old right after we sat on the ground to share the Truth about God, Sin, Jesus and our Response with Luis) stood together hand-in-hand in the plaza praising Jesus for His sacrifice that allowed four more brothers and sisters to enter into fellowship as sons and daughters of the King.

While in Peru, we never shared a religion or denomination, we simply yet truthfully proclaimed the sovereignty and love of God. By doing so, the story mentioned previously became just one of the many memories-of-salvation Pete and I were privileged to witness.

Ten days in Peru opened my eyes to the beauty and despair of God's creation in ways I had never seen it before. My heart was filled-up and wrung-out so many times it felt like a dirty shirt being scrubbed clean by the Quechua women as they slammed it against the rocks in the stream, knocking the loose dirt off, only to submerge it again and again working out the very last speck of filth.

It only took a few times being spiritually wrung-out that I began to ask, "What next Lord? Where do I go from here?"

I've been back in the United States over a month, I can easily close my eyes to revisit my Peru memories but I believe new ones are about to be formed right in in my home town. God's answer to my "What next Lord?" seems to be "Become pro-active right where you are."

I'll let you know what that looks like as soon as I can. Until then, take a look at this great video made by The Firehouse assuring us we will never be alone: