I went to a conference the other day, about the transformation that God’s love can bring into our lives, bringing us hope and life, even in our struggles.
It’s what I’m learning in my everyday life. Sure, the Christian life isn’t easy. But God is incredible. And I’m learning that the hope and life He brings into our hearts, if we let Him, is amazing.
But it’s not hope that I can just keep to myself. It’s sure hope that’s so very much needed.
I’ve been thinking about those who are suffering on the other side of the world.
The Father’s love and the hope He gives in Christ isn’t just for western believers. It’s for all who will believe in Jesus and follow Him (you can find out more here).
I look at the images of those in need in other countries. Those who are abused. Those who suffer unimaginable things. Many of whom have never even heard the Name of Jesus. Technically, it’s over 2 billion (probably 3 billion) who’ve never heard.
And I know that the Father’s heart breaks for them. That He longs to transform. That He longs for them to know the power of true, unending love. Of forgiveness. Of eternal, amazing hope.
What could the Father’s love mean for a girl trafficked into the sex trade? For a child on the streets? For a widow who is desperate, abandoned, alone?
Many years ago, I went on a mission trip to the Philippines. One day, we went out for a sightseeing trip. We went to the local market to shop. Before we went in, our friends advised us not to talk to the beggars who would come round. If we did, we would be overwhelmed by them. So I was doing what I’d been told, not engaging with them.
And then this little girl came up to me. She was carrying carrier bags, which she was trying to sell for a pitiful amount. I was trying to ignore her, just as I’d been advised. And then the Holy Spirit began to break my heart, drawing me to her. The Lord was working in my heart. I was compelled to look at. What a precious, beautiful little girl!
Pleading with me.
For a few coins.
But I knew she needed so much more.
Had she ever heard? Had anyone ever told her? Did she have any idea that Father God longs to forgive her, give her eternal hope, bring her into His family, transform her by His love and give her hope and a future forever? Had anyone warned her about the judgement coming… and how we all need Christ?
Who would tell her of Jesus?
I never saw that girl again (Lord, bless her wherever she is today). But I couldn’t forget her. When I got back, I wrote a song for her… for that little girl selling carrier bags in a Filipino market… and the many others like her.
We may not all be called to go to her. We may be called to pray, or to give, or to send. But I know the Lord has a part for us all to play.
Come and Tell Me
For the little girl I met in a market in the Philippines, who was trying to sell me carrier bags.
She was walking the streets when I saw her,
Holding carrier bags in her hands,
Searching and pleading for someone to buy her wares
And I guess bleeding from all the deep inside
And she spoke to me with this sweet, pleading tone,
Asking me to buy so she could eat
And I don’t know what she told me. I don’t speak her tongue,
But she told me by the hunger in her eyes.
I can’t cry in your ear.
I can’t scream so you can hear.
I can’t tell you how much I’m hurting.
I can’t tell you of the hunger deep within
But hear my cry in the night
As it reaches you in your nice life:
Come and tell me
Come and tell me
About your God.
And they’re passing through this world in darkness,
Carrying their guilt upon their backs,
All ready and waiting to plunge right into Hell
With nobody to tell them the way out.
And, if none of us will tell them, then they will never know,
Cos messages can’t get there by themselves.
Can you listen in the darkness?
Can you hear the waiting world?
Cos still they don’t know
That Jesus saves…
Written by Caroline Abblitt
You can find ‘Come and Tell Me’ on my album ‘Song of Joy, which you can get here.
Caroline Abblitt 