I glanced from the bed of Mundo’s pickup at the halted truck
before us. The policeman saw us coming
and quickly reached his hand into other man’s truck and pulled out a stack of
Guatemalan bills, which he then slipped discretely into the newspaper in his
other hand. The officer waved the truck
along and returned to his own vehicle where he pretended to resume a reading –
as if nothing shady and unusual had just taken place. As our own truck made its transition from the
dirt path back onto the cement road, the truck that had been halted before,
stopped again on the side of the road – this time the man gave us an awkward
smile as he stepped down from his seat, as if to say, “I know you saw that –
but you didn’t see anything!” and we drove on.
Today’s venture required us to take a contraband road that
connected Honduras and Guatemala. We
knew that many police officers were paid off in this area to keep the transportation
of drugs between countries running smooth, and so seeing this scene should not
have come as much of a surprise to me. (But
it did.) I have found that it is moments
like these that send reality-checking jolts through my mind and heart as I
travel throughout third world cities and countries. These scenarios first remind me of where I
am, but then draw me into a reminiscent state of recounting how I came to be
there, and why.
As far back into my childhood as I can remember, and up
until I was 18 years old, I had an unspoken fear of being in dark places. I could not walk alone through dark parking
lots without looking over my shoulder continuously to be sure I was not being
followed or watched, as if darkness was only there to hide the evils that
desired to have their way with me. But
this all changed when, at 18, I began believing Jesus’ words that I was the ‘light
of the world’! With this perspective change I began to see myself as someone
that gave darkness a reason to fear, rather than the other way around. This revelation grew until I finally believed
that there was no dark place on the earth I could go that would not be flooded
with light when I walked in the front door.
Darkness cannot be measured because it is formed in lack –
that lack being in the place of illumination! In a sense, darkness is no more
than a bold invitation for light to shine.
God took what had once been my fear, and turned it into my passion!
When referencing my dreams, I often tell people that, “I want to go to the
darkest places of the world and watch God’s light shine in the midst!” And
these words can sound impressive, but they are nothing in comparison to the life
changing transition God’s goodness brought to make those words honestly expressible.
Jesus’ words are life transforming when they are believed. God did not bring a petty and shy gospel, but
one of power and unfathomable love – that as people begin to trust Him at His
word, the world is changed.
