This morning, I had been watching a great movie, it was the end and Osmel wanted to tell me what he had heard about Jose. I reluctantly paused the movie in the final moments. The climax-- I was entrenched in the movie and filled with emotion from what I had seen on the screen. And as I paused the movie, and Osmel began to share- I felt transported somehow. I felt that the story he was telling me were pages from a story that were coming to life in my heart and I was so overcome with emotion that I began to weep. I can't explain the feelings, but I felt that I needed to write this event down as soon as I was able. And as Osmel was sharing the story with me, I was formulating in my mind what to say and how to say it.
We talk about conversion and having a new life in Christ, but sometimes the changes are so gradual that it is hard to see.
Today, I heard about a radical change that brought me to tears. Through the last few years, as we have been following Jose's story, I have to say that I have doubted the depth of the conversion. There were things that he had in his life that made me doubt, but those were judgements based on my expectations not on Yours. Jose was a worker within the communist regime in Cuba. He was communist and he believed in the ideals of his government. He believed in his president, and he had made a life pursuing work within the dictates of his governing system. He had a good reputation with the people above him and he had lived a life that was pleasing to the leaders. But something extraordinary happened to him. He met You Jesus. You got a hold of his heart. How you did it is a story in and of itself, but You not only called him to come to You, You called him to come out of himself. You used him as a witness... literally, a witness!
Jose is a part of the church in Cuba. They are fighting the battle with the government over their right to exist. The pastor is in danger of losing his license, he and his family could lose their home, the church is in danger of losing its building, and if the government gets its way, there will be nothing left. No church, no testimony, nada! This church is growing and seems to be thriving in the midst of harshness. You Jesus want this church to thrive and I believe that You want this little church to grow and represent You in great ways to the outlying community. The people in the neighborhood are watching, and though they might not have always like what they have seen coming from within, there will be no denying Your presence and Your handiwork when all this is done.
From an earthly perspective, it looks so discouraging. The government is trying to destroy what You are trying to build up. I will not be surprised to find out that You are in the middle of this seemingly destructive turn of events- that like the mythic beast the phoenix rose from the ashes- Your church will also rise from the events that it will endure and it will be stronger and more pure than before... what is the word? Refined? Refined!
It has been a blessing for us to watch You work from afar and to see Your hand. But Osmel and I have had an opportunity to peer into this situation from a vantage point that comes only from You. We see Your hand all over the people and the happenings and we know that whatever the outcome, it is exactly what You want and You will still be on the throne in the end. God you work miracles, and today we saw the miracle of who Jose had been and what he had become and it captivated my very soul and gave me a strange feeling of being carried away into his story, into his life and he into mine. Suddenly, Jose was my family and the feelings that I was feeling were pride and what he had done, joy at what he had become, hope of what the unbelievers in my life could become.
In the depth of my heart, this story brings forth a sense of emptiness, and although emptiness sounds like a negative word, it isn't. It is a feeling created by the realization that You Jesus are going to transport us into the middle of Jose's world and we will share in the realization of what he has become and be a part of what he has yet to accomplish. We will one day soon be there with Jose to walk alongside him and continue to witness what You are going to do in his life.
