A Break With Culture:

A friend of mine is from India. He is also a missionary to India. The subcontinent of India is a very diverse place. John & Maria came to the USA for their education and then returned to their homeland, but to a place that is completely different--new language, culture and people.

I just received an email from John that described a wedding where he was asked to share a message. He called the wedding a "Wonderful disaster."
He was given dirty water to drink. The generator that supplied electricty was unreliable, making the sound system malfunction. The temperature was over a hundred degrees. Children ran around, old people talked and cellphones interupted.
"By most standards this wedding would be considered disasterous, but these people were following Christian principles. . . . In this tribal culture the bride often goes to the groom before marriage. After a few weeks or months of living together they may or may not get married. These Christians decided to follow Biblical principles and get married before their union. That is why it was a wonderful wedding. They left their unhealthy traditions and embraced Godly principles. . . ."

I thought, as I read John's account, that this is precisely the response I long to see more of, here in my culture, that is becoming less and less effected by Christian principles. Jesus left His people in this world, but He said that we are not to take our way of life from it, John 17.

John said he received a bag of peanuts for preaching. No, John, the pay is much more than goobers.