It will never cease to bring me great joy and excitement when I see and hear of people getting a New Testament in their very own language. Quite frequently it also brings tears to my eyes.
I remember when, about a month ago, I was working as a leader for a middle school mission trip, the youth pastor said something to the kids that I found quite profound. He was comparing our need for spiritual nourishment to that of our need for physical nourishment. He pointed out that we don’t really see too many people in our country walking around with the physical signs of being malnourished, but we Christians are all to frequently spiritually-malnourished. This happens when we try to walk through daily life without starting off each day by coming into contact with our Creator, the lover of our souls, through His Word. The pastor’s words painted an image in my mind of a malnourished person trying to go about a normal day, and it was just sad. We would struggle to survive if we skipped most of our meals, and we’d never even think of attempting to run a marathon while fasting from food. Why is it we think we can make it through the day or even a season of life without spiritual nourishment?
Maybe this is why seeing people get their Bibles for the first time is so exciting to me. It is estimated that over 180 million people do not have even one word of the Bible in a language that speaks clearly to their hearts. 180 million people, who are spiritually malnourished because they do not have the Word of God to feed upon! This is a call to action! People are in real need of God’s word! And when I see people get it I am moved to my very core.
The next video spotlights just one language group out of so many that have already received a New Testament in their language. People’s lives ARE being changed, and the love of God is being made known and understood. Samuel Mubbala, a translation consultant, has seen his dream come true at last. His community now has access to the New Testament in their heart language, and people are growing and learning! As you watch this video see if it doesn’t bring joy and excitement to your heart also, and potentially a few tears to your eyes as well!