The Levites - Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah - said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God!” (Nehemiah 9:5)
The smell of sour milk wafted into my car window in India long before I could identify the source. A half kilometer later, I spotted mountains of garbage overflowing a landfill. On top of layers of plastic bags, broken cement, and rotting sugar canes were dome shaped hovels made from the same refuse beneath them. And next to the huts were humans, walking over the rubbish like ants, searching for bits of life.
I approached a family to share the gospel through my interpreter only to discover they were already Christians. They’d been chased out of a refugee camp and to the city dump by persecuting Hindus. Impoverished Christians in India have one of the most abused existences on the planet.
One fellow stuck in my mind. Besides his ghastly living conditions, his fingers were missing because of leprosy. He used his stubs to sift garbage for any recycling he could sell to salvagers. There he stood, the soil beneath his feet made of human trash, white nubs for fingers, and a toothless grin because he had the joy of the Lord in his heart.
I’m relieved that in the kingdom of God the first will be last and the last will be first. That man at the dump will be honored through eternity because he stood above his rubbish heap and shined the love of Christ.
What rubbish is beneath my feet? Do I let money problems, health failure, or family grievances pull me down under the garbage? Or do I use this time on earth as my opportunity to stand on top of suffering and grin because I have the love of God in my heart?
If that Indian man can bless God in spite of his circumstances, then I can do the same with the inconveniences I call hardships in my life.
Prayer: God my Savior, may I praise you no matter what comes my way.