Kevin Austin at Lakeside, Thailand, and other Exciting Places

Her eyes cut through me – intense, and wild.   Dirty face, furrowed brow, she was moving in a frenzy from tourist to tourist begging for money.  Just a child, and yet she had a baby on her back.  A woman on the side of the road kept yelling at her.  Was it her mother?

I was on the other side of the fence.

I couldn’t get to her.

She was in Burma. I was in Thailand.

But what if I could get to her?

I watched her moving frantically from person to person.  The woman on the side of the road kept yelling at her.  The baby’s head on her back bobbed passively.  Then more and more children joined her.  I had to turn away.

What could I do?

My problem now is that I can’t get her eyes out of my mind.  And I’m still on the other side of the fence.

Christian scripture talks about the need to not be “unequally yoked”.  This, it seems to me, applies to issues of commitment.  Should Christians marry non-Christians or enter into legally binding commitments?  For obvious reasons, – no – hence the scripture.

But what about in other cases?  Christians work with people of various beliefs at places of employment.  Christians ride on buses and planes and eat at restaurants filled with people of various beliefs.   Why not work at something meaningful together?

If Christians are supposed to be witnesses and evangelists, then why do some Christians only work with and partner with other Christians?  How can they witness if they are in their Christian ghettos?

Or another question:  is the Christian faith so fragile that it is so easily threatened by other faiths and beliefs? I don’t think so.  If Christianity is the truth, and if Jesus is the way, then the reality of these truths will stand with or without us.  As a Christian I believe these things are true and therefore that my faith is unshakeable – and experience proves this to be true.

As a Christian, it is sad to me that some Christians demand that everyone meet them on their terms and on their turf.  What happened to incarnational ministry?  Paul in I Corinthians says “I have become all things to all men so I might save some.”   Jesus didn’t shame others, trick, demand, or threaten.  He loved, invited, led with grace, and sacrificed himself.  His harsh words were for people in the religious establishment who were thinking too much for God and laying down their own rules.  Do Christians today do the same thing?  What would Jesus say to Christians who gleefully hand out tickets for Hell, who threaten and coerce non-Christians?

I, for one, will willingly partner with Buddhists to end slavery, to feed orphans and rescue families.  I am not tempted to worship Buddha.  I’m not being asked to do so.  I will love, and witness.  I will feed orphans in Jesus name and have stimulating conversations with my Buddhist friends as I’m doing so.

At first I was frustrated.  I wanted a big, aircon, roomy bus from Chiang Sen to Chiang Rai, but all they had were the little green ones.  No aircon.  Stop at every village.  Slow.

I sat in the back with my bags.  Three monks boarded and sat next to me.  We chatted for a few minutes.  The older one gave me water saying he had too much.  The tall one asked me where I was from.  The one with deformities, much too short for an adult, said nothing.

We sat in the back watching the smoky countryside out the windows.  I listened to rock music on my ipod.  The monks sat in silence.  I was encumbered by my bags.  They had nothing.  I wondered about hope, meaninglessness, and final destinations.

It wasn’t that far or that hot.  I was glad I rode the green bus.

Yesterday, as we drove through the smoky Thai countryside, my new friend Robin and I discussed many things, but we ended up on the major topic of SELF.  How can people buy a child for $3?  How can we be so selfish?  What is the answer to conflicts in the world?  These are excellent questions.

Robin, who leans into Buddhism, has a good heart.  She is here in Northern Thailand giving aid to children trapped in poverty and vulnerable to be trafficked.  Buddhism teaches that too much self is not a good thing.  Christians can agree with this.  Too much self is, in other words, selfishness.  But how does one rid oneself of too much self?  For the Buddhist meditation and right living accomplish this.  I can, as a Christian agree with this as well.  But for me it’s insufficient.

No matter how much I work at it – on my own – I can’t get rid of enough of me!

Instead, as a Christian, I want Jesus to fill me up so much there is no room for me!  I want to be more and more like Jesus.  I want to do everything from a heart of love. I can’t do it on my own.  I need divine intervention.

I am so thankful for Robin and for others like her.  I’m glad that Buddhists and Christians can partner together to make the world a better place.  And I’m thankful that as we all seek the truth, we will find it.  Jesus will show us the way.