Opposition
Though God certainly led us to people of peace, our time in northern France was not without opposition.
After our first day of knocking on 150 doors and being invited into 4 homes, our team of 5 (down from 6 after one team member got sick) stood at the corner of the neighborhood making plans for the next day. Ideally, we'd have grabbed a drink and debriefed away from the neighborhood, but one of our other teammates was in a hurry to get home to his wife and kids (one of which was sick and would be hospitalized later that evening from dehydration). As we stood discussing the events of the day, a man in his mid-30s strutted up to our group with a grin.
"Are you the ones giving out chocolates to our kids?" he asked knowingly.
We explained that, yes, we were giving chocolates, but it was not specifically to the children. In fact, outside of the park, where children nearly attacked us demanding the candy, we were intentional in speaking to parents.
"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.
As we explained to this immigrant man that we are followers of Jesus, he became more defiant. "You should wear a symbol on your shirts," he said. "God is not happy with you. You are doing a bad thing. You don't belong here," he continued. "Why do you give chocolates and then force people to hear your message? If people here knew who you were, they wouldn't take your candies; but after they've taken your candy they are forced to listen to your speech," he accused. "Jesus made sure people knew him first...."
Our teammate calmly shared the story of the woman at the well. We gently told the man our intentions. Peter, a man visiting from England with no knowledge of the French language, smiled at the man, explained that our friend needed to get home to his sick child, and said, "But I'd love to talk with you more over some food. Can I come to your house to eat?" After several self-invitations to eat at this man's house, the man opposing us laughed and we parted ways.
This immigrant man was clearly the gatekeeper of this community, working hard to keep Christ out. Our God is greater than the authorities of the world; praise Him!
This story is part of a series of posts describing our time in northern France. To see other posts, click here, here, and here.
"Are you the ones giving out chocolates to our kids?" he asked knowingly.
We explained that, yes, we were giving chocolates, but it was not specifically to the children. In fact, outside of the park, where children nearly attacked us demanding the candy, we were intentional in speaking to parents.
"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.
As we explained to this immigrant man that we are followers of Jesus, he became more defiant. "You should wear a symbol on your shirts," he said. "God is not happy with you. You are doing a bad thing. You don't belong here," he continued. "Why do you give chocolates and then force people to hear your message? If people here knew who you were, they wouldn't take your candies; but after they've taken your candy they are forced to listen to your speech," he accused. "Jesus made sure people knew him first...."
Our teammate calmly shared the story of the woman at the well. We gently told the man our intentions. Peter, a man visiting from England with no knowledge of the French language, smiled at the man, explained that our friend needed to get home to his sick child, and said, "But I'd love to talk with you more over some food. Can I come to your house to eat?" After several self-invitations to eat at this man's house, the man opposing us laughed and we parted ways.
This immigrant man was clearly the gatekeeper of this community, working hard to keep Christ out. Our God is greater than the authorities of the world; praise Him!
This story is part of a series of posts describing our time in northern France. To see other posts, click here, here, and here.
I'm interested to see if your path crosses again with this "gatekeeper"!
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