Freedom
Faces of every color, every shape and every age sprinkled the room as I sat drinking chai tea with men, women and children from over 12 different countries. A hushed murmur filled the room as 12 languages were interpreted after every sentence that the main speaker shared. It was an experience unlike any I had ever encountered. These men, women and children had fled their homelands for safety and freedom, and now were sitting in a small room in Austria listening to a new message of hope that they had never heard before---the message about a man named Jesus.
I sat in amazement listening to my own English interpreter who was translating the German message and tears began to well up in my eyes as I saw faces around the room question what they were hearing and then light up with wonder as they heard the finality of what Jesus did for them when He died on the cross two thousand years ago for their sins and rose from the grave so that they could have complete, eternal freedom. No good works, no perfection, no rules would ever give them the eternal security they were looking for. Only the simple faith in Jesus as their Savior and Lord would give them freedom from guilt, shame and fear. What an amazing proposition to hear!
These beautiful faces did not look like refugees. They did not come with threats or belligerent attitudes like the media had painted them to be. No, they were hungry---not for food---but for a true life of freedom both politically, physically and spiritually.
As I learned each of their names and where they were from, my gut sank thinking of how far they had traveled to find hope. From Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Albania and more, these people had risked everything to find freedom. And yet, they were so happy to sit with a simple cup of chai tea, making crafts with their kids, listening to worship music and learning about a new story of hope they had never heard before.
During this missions trip to Austria to serve the wonderful refugees who had come so far for freedom, I also traveled with my team to Hungary where I served at a conference for primarily ministry leaders from all over Easter Europe, many of whom were raised in Communist countries. Those gorgeous faces from Macedonia, Albania, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria and more opened my eyes to see the hunger that they had for freedom and the unwavering hope they had found in Jesus---their persecuted Savior who had conquered death itself for them. Mind-blowing.
As I sat on the long plane ride home to Los Angeles, my mind would bring up every beautiful face that I had encountered and I could not forget their stories, their tears, their losses or their unprecedented hope. It convicted me and I asked myself: Do I have an unwavering hunger to daily talk to my Savior Jesus who saved me for eternity? Do I share this amazing message of hope because I think it's a nice thing to do or because I believe it could actually change someone's life?
I pray this Easter that each of us will have a new understanding of how great the sacrifice was that Jesus made for us on the cross at Calvary and how unmatched His gift of salvation is for each person who is hungry for hope.
