A Snapshot into Animism

Human nature… it is made up of many facets.  There are the ‘get-all-you-can-while-you-can’ thinkers who grasp for stuff while doing as little as possible – the kind of individuals who want something for nothing.  We call it greed.  It’s the stuff that motivates criminals and scammers, perhaps others, too.  But human nature is comprised of many other elements. 

Take the instance where two of Jesus’s beloved disciples came to him one day (Mark 10:35-40) asking to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in his glory.  They were grappling for power & position… why?  Had they not learned humility from John the Baptist when he declared, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)?

In another instance, Matthew 24:3, the disciples came asking Jesus about the signs of His coming and the end of the age, potentially motivated by a desire to know the future and avoid suffering. 

Or how about the argument that arose among the disciples (Luke 9:46), to determine who will be the greatest of them, highlighting their ambition for personal superiority? These men were not criminals or scammers; they were simply men looking out for themselves.

…And one more sighting, this one found in Matthew 19:27 where Peter, having left all to follow Christ asks, “What’s in it for us?”

What’s in it for us?

Have you ever raised that question after assisting someone with a project or a problem?  Oh, perhaps not vocally, but deep inside a voice says, “I’ve been kind.  I’ve gone out of my way, above expectation… I should get something for this?”  It’s a human tendency to think that way.

I see a parallel as I think about lost people living in an animistic world.  Their world is motivated by manipulation and fear.  Do this, get this… let me explain:  An animist has the belief that if they perform a specific incantation or a particular ritual, they will receive a notable benefit.  Sadly, what they perceive they can get thru such practices is never embraced.  …And what is it they are looking for?  They are looking for freedom from the bondage of fear.  Fear drives their every motivation.

Such ones will forever be held in the grip of fear.  It’s a vicious cycle that goes round and round, coming up empty-handed, not having grasped what they had hoped for.  The knowing of not knowing is what forces them onward in pursuit of freedom, yet they are enslaved to binding fear.  How does one break free?  That is the answer they struggle to find.

We know that the liberating power of the gospel can free them from their fear, from the blinding grip of darkness that holds them captive.  But many people groups, some 7,000, don’t know this liberating message that can turn darkened hearts to the Light of Life.  Romans 10:14 cries loudly with the voice, “How shall they hear?”  Those words echo in our prayers each day?  Oh, we know ‘how’ they can hear; the real question is “WHO will make it happen?”

Another cry of our heart to the Lord is how can we awaken awareness in our churches, in Christian families, in Christian circles of higher education of the need to instill a missional heart into our young for sake of equipping and sending workers to those who will never hear of Jesus unless we go?

Don’t get me wrong… we love worship; we love the fellowship of the Word & prayer, and the harmony of love thru the Body of Christ.  But if we are to fulfill the commission Jesus gave us to do, then we must invest in equipping laborers for the harvest. 

Perhaps you may wonder why we are so enthralled with the task of advocating the needs for workers among the unreached.  Consider this: 70,000 people die every day without Christ.  Added to that, there are 3,000,000,000 people living on planet earth with no exposure to the gospel.  We wish we were young again and with reasonable wellness to begin this journey in missions all over again because we know there are billions to be reached.  So we plead… “Who will go?”

Will you pray for us as we seek open doors to come alongside church leadership teams to assist them in establishing a focus that will help them recognize potential ones among their numbers in whom they could instill a heart for God, and a passion for the unreached?  Ones they could send and support.  We see missions as a key element of discipleship to multiply our efforts of Christian witness globally.  

Now… back to the opening thought and what the disciples learned.

While the disciples sometimes went off the rails in their thinking, they were captivated by the teachings of Jesus which changed their lives.  They learned that the focus of serving wasn’t what was in it for them, but realized God’s power, instilled in them, gave them the sharpness of vision to impact the lost… all for the glory of God’s Great Name.  That’s what we seek to do as we serve.