Friday, February 5, 2016

Six Degrees of Separation

In 1993 Kevin Bacon starred in a film titled Six Degrees of Separation. It was based on a theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. Or to put it another way, any two people are six or fewer steps away from each other through a chain of friends. While the theory is unproven, I think that it will be interesting getting to know other people in heaven and seeing just how close those chains of acquaintances were between us and other brothers and sisters in Christ.

With that being said, I have a message for you from a believer in Papua New Guinea who has less than six degrees of separation from you.

I first met Wayne back in 2007 when he was a student here at the Missionary Training Center. Wayne and his wife Gail moved to Papua New Guinea so they could plant a church among the Biem people. In 2012, the message of the gospel was presented to the Biem through the Firm Foundations chronological Bible lessons and a church was born.

The testimonies of the Biem people of Papua New Guinea demonstrated their utter amazement at the goodness of God. The fact that He sent a Savior who died for them is almost more than they could imagine.

“This is God’s talk,” said one of the Biems. “I’ve heard it. See, it’s just one story, from the Old Testament to Jesus. There is no other road but Jesus. God meant it this way from the beginning.”

“I can’t stop thinking about this talk,” another Biem stated. “It’s what I think of when I first get up. Yesterday, I woke and that’s what I started talking with my wife about. We went to the garden and were there all day talking about this talk. Then all of sudden it’s night and we have to stop. But in the morning, we start all over again. It’s always on my mind.”

“A young guy sat next to me, with the biggest smile on his face,” wrote Wayne. “He didn’t say anything so I asked him, ‘What’s on your mind?’”

“He said, ‘Wayne, I had a big question yesterday. Why didn’t God the Father help Jesus on the cross? I thought about it all night and I didn’t know. But after today’s lesson, I don’t have any more questions. I got it. I understand it. I am just going to sit here and be happy.’”

One young Biem man told Wayne, “I know I should thank God for you guys but I want to thank all three of your families for bringing God’s talk here.”

Then Wayne told him that, no, it’s not just the three families. He said, “There are literally thousands of people praying for you guys to understand God’s talk all over the world.”

The Biem man said, “OK, then you go and tell them, all of them: Thank you. God’s talk has come to our island. Thank them for praying and sending you guys here.”

As I read the Biem man’s words, it reminded me of Romans 10:14–15 which says:

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

And we could probably add to that, “And how shall they preach unless they can speak the language? And how can they learn an unwritten language unless they are trained?”

That brings me back to six degrees of separation. From a Biem believer in Papua New Guinea to Wayne to Bob to you: “Thank you for your part in getting the gospel to the far reaches of the world!” Whenever you pray for a missionary or help to support their ministry, you are part of that chain taking the gospel to least-reach and unreached people groups around the world.

Bob

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A Secret for Christian Growth
by John Nelson Darby

One of the great secrets of growth is looking upon the Lord Jesus as gracious. How strengthening it is, to know that He is at this moment feeling and exercising the same love and grace towards me as when He died upon the Cross for me.