Paradox

I heard an inspiring message today

about the joy we have as believers in Christ:

about how much we have to rejoice in because of who our God is and what He has done.

And we did sing and rejoice as a group of Jesus followers

and it was

wonderful.

***

After the meeting I got chatting to a smiling young man who was standing alone drinking coffee.

I found out that he is a Zimbabwean;

20 something, I guess;

all his family except one brother is still in Zim;

it is not going well with them.

***

Neither he nor his brother have jobs

nor does there seem to be any possibility of jobs for them

any time soon

(unless God does a miracle)

They have no source of income whatsoever

***

A friend of his joined us

His story is a carbon copy of the first youngster's.

They stood looking at me after I had heard their stories

I did not know what to say to them.

And I told them that.

***

The paradoxes of life

and of the Christian life

stun me

All that we had heard from the pulpit was true and real.

For them, as well as those who do have the necessities of life

and more.

***

And I have no doubt that the young Zimbabweans

rejoiced and sang

with us.

***

But how did this translate to these two young men?

And how does it translate to the thousands like them

And to the hundreds of thousands

all over the world?

***

And what can we do -

it doesn't help them that our hearts break for them