Compelled

Our heavenly Father loves us, His children, in innumerable ways. As we follow Him, He gives us the incredible privilege of conveying His love to a broken and hurting world.

My dear friends Vek Huong and Samouen Taing direct the JESUS film project in Cambodia, which seeks to give every Cambodian an opportunity to know Jesus Christ through film. Their country went through one of the most devastating and horrific times in history when the Communist dictator, Pol Pot, held the small country in a grip of terror and torture. Today, a visitor can see the evidence in the Killing Fields Memorial just outside of Phnom Penh, the capital city. On display are 90,000 skulls piled seventy feet high. Shelf after shelf holds the bleached bones of men, women, and children. Out of a population of 8 million, 1.5 million or more were slaughtered, many in tortuous ways that are difficult to describe.

A few days before the collapse of Cambodia this young couple was asked if they would like to be evacuated. Huong replied, “We have decided to serve our Lord Jesus Christ by reaching Cambodia for Him until the last days of our lives.”

No one heard from the couple for four years. In that time, they wandered throughout the country, faced starvation and deprivation, but kept their faith in their Lord. To celebrate their anniversary, the only food they had were some rat heads and skin. They asked God to spare their lives, but were also willing to die if that was His plan for their lives.

After a long ordeal, they made their way to a refugee camp in Thailand where a reporter met them and published their names. Someone recognized their names and informed our leadership that they had been found. They were reunited with their Campus Crusade family with great joy.

Their experiences did not deter them. After their rescue from the refugee camp Samouen said, “Cambodia is our home. We will continue to serve here. We both have sad memories here. My parents and Huong’s mother were killed by the Khmer Rouge. God gave us back our lives so we could serve Him, so that we could reach Cambodia for Christ. This is our second life.”

Because of Christ’s love, Vek and Samouen returned to their homeland to direct the ministry in Cambodia. We who have experienced God’s unconditional love are commanded to share that love with others. John writes, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in Him. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16). The secret is letting God use us as His instruments to love others. We begin that process by loving God. As Jesus said, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, NIV). First we must “follow.” Only then will God turn us into effective “fishers of men.”

Paul writes, “Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15, NIV). When we genuinely realize how much God has sacrificed for us, our love for Him will stay warm and fruitful. We will not be able to keep the Good News to ourselves. God’s love is the Good News we share with those who have no idea what it means to be loved by Christ.

Let us continually, day to day and moment to moment, drink deeply from the wellsprings of God’s love. And after you are refreshed with that living water, pour some out onto dry, thirsty people around you. I assure you that seeing others respond to God’s love and forgiveness will be one of the most joyful experiences you will ever have.

This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love t“han to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. -John 15:12,13

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:  In Matthew 22:37,38, Jesus said, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” How can you live this out in your daily life? Why do you think God wants us to love Him so completely?

By Bill Bright

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