Just imagine going to a worship gathering in one of those house churches [I forget what country he was in]. Not an all-day training in the Word. Just a normal three-hour worship service late in the evening. The Asian believer who is taking you gives you the instructions. "Put on dark pants and a jacket with a hood on it. We will put you in the back of our car and drive you into the village. Please keep your hood on and your face down."
When you arrive in the village under the cover of night, another Asian believer meets you at the door of the car. "Follow me," he says.
With your hood over your head, you crawl out of the car, keeping your face toward the ground. You begin to walk with your eyes fixed on the feet of the man in front of you as he leads you down a long and winding path with a small flashlight. You hear more and more footsteps around you as you progress down the trail. Then finally you round the corner and walk into a small room.
Despite its size, sixty believers have crammed into it. They are all ages, from precious little girls to seventy-year-old men. They are sitting on the floor or on small stools, lined shoulder to shoulder, huddled together with their Bibles in their laps. The roof is low, and one light bulb dangles from the middle of the ceiling as the sole source of illumination.
No sound system.
No band.
No guitar.
No entertainment.
No cushioned chairs.
No heated or air-conditioned building.
Nothing but the people of God and the Word of God.
And strangely, that's enough.
God's Word is enough for millions of believers who gather in house churches just like this one. His Word is enough for millions of others believers who huddle in African jungles, South American rain forests, and Middle Eastern cities.
But is his Word enough for us?
I suppose it's easy to raise the issue that we (or at least, I) don't live in those conditions. But it's hard to dismiss the question still: Is his Word enough?
Peace out, my friends; and in.
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