I would not have understood!
Since workers first arrived among the Fire People* of Southeast Asia, the purpose has remained the same— to faithfully communicate the story of Scripture such that people can hear and understand the gospel, come to faith in Jesus Christ, and gather together eventually as believers in a healthy local church.
That kind of work takes time. It requires learning language and culture, building relationships, and patiently teaching the truths of Scripture in words people can actually understand. Sometimes, it means telling the same story again and again. And sometimes, on the second or maybe third telling, the pieces begin to fall into place.
Recently, a worker sat down again with Aaron, a member of the Fire People, to continue working through the story of Scripture. Before moving on to something new, they returned to Luke 23. This had become a normal part of their time together. They would review what they had previously covered, making sure the wording was clear and accurate in Aaron’s dialect.
When they reached the crucifixion, they read the words of those mocking Jesus, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ.” The worker stopped and asked Aaron a simple question:
“Why didn’t he save himself?”
Aaron wasn’t sure. So they went through the story again. Much of the biblical text had already been adjusted to Aaron’s dialect during their previous session. This time, he could focus less on unfamiliar wording and more on what the story actually meant. Slowly, the pieces began to come together.
When they finished, Aaron said: “My whole life I have believed that the way of salvation was by doing good deeds. Now I understand that it is only in Christ. Now I can tell Jesus, ‘I am trusting only you to fully bear all of my sins on the last day.’” The worker wrote down Aaron’s words because it was such a clear expression of the gospel in his language.
But Aaron still had a question.
“How do you do this? What do I have to do to take hold of this truth?”
Drawing from the Passover story they had studied, the worker explained that “we don’t have Jesus’ blood to place over our door frame, but when we believe, we put his blood over the frame of our hearts, and we are saved.”
Aaron’s eyes filled with tears. He explained that at night, he had been lying awake thinking about the things they had been reading together.
For months, the worker and his wife had been praying for Aaron. They had wanted to explain these truths to him long before this conversation, but they knew he did not yet have the framework to understand them. The worker reminded Aaron of a conversation they had many months earlier. “Do you remember when I told you I wanted to tell you the way of salvation? Would you have believed me then if I had told you that Jesus’ blood is the way of salvation?”
Aaron’s answer was immediate:
“No way. I would not have understood.”
Now, new questions are emerging. How will Aaron grow as a believer? How will his family hear and understand? How and when should he make his new faith known? What will baptism look like? And perhaps one of the most significant questions: how might this one believer someday become part of a local body of believers among the Fire People?
Today, Aaron is one man among millions, and we praise God for what He is doing in his life.
Please pray for Aaron as he grows in his understanding of Christ. Pray for his family, that they too would hear and understand the good news. Pray for wisdom for the workers as they disciple him through the questions ahead.
Pray that one day, Aaron will not be a solitary sheep, but rather one of many among the Fire People, gathered together in worship of the Ultimate Good Shepherd.
