We have been in the village of Kampung Luong for a week, now. It is a huge place. The village is made up of ethnic Vietnamese and Khmer. I was told there are more than 6,000 people living in this sprawling “aquatropolis.” There are churches, stores, and even karaoke!
It has been interesting to see the boat houses moving closer to the ship. We are sort of on the edge between open water and the tops of flooded trees. The boat villages move further over land “into the trees,” as the water rises. As it begins to go down, they move back to deeper water. There is an ebb and flow to boat village life.
This morning, I noticed a new neighbor had taken up residence near us. I have been fascinated with the idea of packing up the house and moving when your neighbors begin to get on your nerves. The Johnsons bring home a dog that barks all the time. What do you do? Move the house! The Smiths are always staying up late and playing the TV too loud? What do you say? Nothing! You just tie the house to your fishing boat and tow it to a more suitable location.
Sadly, most of us can’t do that. We are stuck at 1315 Mockingbird Lane, no matter what the neighbors are doing next door. We can’t afford to pack up our desk and leave work, just because our Play Now co-worker is an idiot. We tough it out. We try to make things tolerable. We work to make things better.
Isn’t that what we are supposed to do? You know - the whole ”leaven in the loaf thing.” We are here to make a difference. We aren’t supposed to run away from the world. Our being in the neighborhood is the way the neighborhood gets better. You being an employee makes your company a nicer place to work. But it goes beyond playing nice-nice.
God intended for us to get into the thick of things and influence the world for good. The apostle John tells us that Jesus prayed for His disciples, saying, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protest them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
We aren't supposed to be of this world, but we are supposed to be in it.
Get it? We have to get out into our neighborhood. Actually meet our neighbors. Let them know what we believe. Oh, and live like we really believe it. We share our faith. We let others know our blessings. We make sure they know that we serve a risen Jesus. We introduce them to our Savior. But the world says, “Hey, they will think I am getting all up in their business!” And, Jesus says, “Yeah, they will. Whenever you are caught up in my business, they you are getting all up in the world’s business and letting them know My way.”
His way is not pulling our boat to the other side of the village.
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