Behind you there's someone shouting pardon! and the next moment you are almost face to face with a donkey pulling a cart through the narrow streets. From all around you there are friendly people greeting you and begging you to pay a visit to their shop. When they hear you are from South Africa the next words are joyfully cried out: Bafana Bafana!
I once saw this lady, dressed in colourful Moroccan clothing, sitting on the sidewalk in the Medina. Her scarf slid halfway over her face, covering her one eye. The other eye was peeking from underneath the scarf. Her eye was filled with sadness as she was looking at the events unfolding before her on the street. There was a depth of the sadness that challenged me to put myself into her shoes and to imagine what life was like for her. To imagine what life was like without God, without hope, peace, joy. A life with no salvation. A soul that is lost to the depths of the darkness that surround her everyday life. When I recall how God had saved me from the darkness, I want to weep that someone else is still lost to that darkness. I know we are all privileged to be able to dance and sing with joy about our salvation and that we can live a life filled with hope, joy and peace. We have a hope for what is yet to come, but this lady doesn't even know that this true joy and hope even exist. She has no hope for a better future and no hope for eternal peace and joy. We know the truth and we have the responsiblity to share and to proclaim the truth. We have to reach out to the ones to whom these sad and lost eyes belong.
Her eye also showed mystery. There is so much hidden behind that look of mystery in the eye. I wondered what was going on in her life and what her perspective of life is. I wondered how she saw us as we were passing her and what she was thinking about us. I sincerely hope that she saw us as different to what she's used to. That she saw hope and joy in our lives. I again realized the importance of being filled with God's Spirit so that, even if you're just passing a person on the street, they will be able to see Jesus in your life. If our light isn't going to shine in the darkness, it might keep the truth from many more. Because what if you're maybe the only person in whom she could possibly see the light? Will she be able to see Jesus in your life? Will she be able to see the truth and to know the truth? And if the answer to these questions is no, a soul might be lost to the sadness that will dwell forever more.
This took me on a journey of self exploration and to search my own life to see if my light will shine in the darkness. To see if Jesus can be seen in my life. With this I want to challenge you to a journey of self exploration.
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