My name is Ajin; for those of you who do not know me, I've been coming to Sheridan Park Family Church for a little over a year now. I’ve been in Canada for roughly the same time. Since my arrival here, I’ve had the privilege of being an active part of this church, serving in a few roles, and being a part of small cell groups. Many of you have also warmly opened your hearts, houses and hearths, demonstrating the love of Christ in meaningful ways.
In all things, I’ve experienced the rich providence and tenderness of God. As someone who came in without any connections to a whole new country, I’ve experienced the kindness of strangers, in almost all cases, without ever asking. I’ve been learning afresh that God, the maker of the universe, is interested in even the tiny details of my life and they are not inconsequential to Him. I can keep going to God in prayer, and ask with boldness and confidence, and do not have to pull back my requests, unknowingly treating God as a genie who only grants a limited number of wishes - so I better make my request worth His while. He is not the evil judge who has to be pestered to loosen His hand, but the God who delights in giving good gifts to His children.
That realization however, does not take away from the fact, that I have also experienced dark nights of the soul, where my faith has been severely tried, and for a long stretch have also walked in a fog. God does not miraculously take my difficulties away, although he very easily could, in the mere blink of an eye. The winters of our lives are an invitation to wrestle with God, to take a hold of Him, and be utterly dependent on God. Isaiah 62:7 “You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves, nor give Him any rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth." If I were to say it colloquially, God loves to be bothered by me.
In the midst of this season, while things were very uncertain for me personally, I began to pray about ways to be active in sharing my faith. In India, where I come from, although a very few are Christians, there is a deep spirituality and profound hunger for the divine, that makes it relatively natural to share your beliefs. There is no taboo on discussing religion or politics. In fact, invariably discussions return to ‘issues of the soul’ with ease and enthusiasm. I wasn’t sure about broaching religion or faith in a culture that seemingly had Judeo-Christian roots, but seemed a little keen, in my opinion to disassociate from them. However, not wanting to waste time, I thought of organizing meetings at a coffee house, and inviting people to bring their questions about the Bible and discussing its relevance for lives today. To my surprise, several people signed up, and a few began showing up to these meetings. I held them once a month, in a non-threatening venue, so people who’d never show up to church, may feel comfortable, and experience a setting where they are not judged due to their beliefs or lack thereof.
There were a couple of meetings where only one person showed up. I’m learning that it doesn’t matter. I had the opportunity to meet one such person, who comes from a liberal background, been to church here with me, who also calls me occasionally to pray. Other times, there have been 7 people, with the most diverse stories - a gentleman who drove all the way from Cambridge, raised in a strongly atheistic home, who searched for the living God and found Him. Another young adult, who had an encounter with Jesus in his room on Christmas day, and is reading the Bible for the first time. It was mind-boggling to look at the Bible with his wonder and amazement as the stories unfolded, and he did not know what lay ahead in the next chapter.
The star of this story is Jesus - He makes much out of the very little we give Him. And He does it for His name’s sake, not because we are skilled, or faithful. Colossians 4:5 says “Make the most of every opportunity." When we take God at His Word, take even halting, stumbling and awkward steps, it is my testimony that God always, always, honors and delights in blessing the tiniest acts of obedience.
And lest I make it sound like it’s a great sacrifice on my part, it is absolutely not. In season or out of season, we must always look for ways to share the love of Christ, because that is a powerful tool that God uses to work in our own hearts.
I do not go to any one of these meetings to minister. Without exception, I was the one who was ministered to, it was my soul that was nourished, rested, and reminded of the active, and living work of God. It doesn’t matter much what the method is, or even what the results are - it is about taking God at His word, and exercising our faith. God can use anything - an eloquent speaker at the pulpit, or an insignificant somebody at a coffee house.
