Skin Deep

On my recent trip to Southern Highlands I was struck by a lot of things.  The beauty of God’s creation, the fun I can have with the students outside of the classroom, love for the people of PNG, how God is working all over the place, and then the ever present phrase, “Wait Meri.”  Yes, that last one is a bit different than the others on my list.  We were in quite a remote place, and not many of the people see white women on a frequent basis and some of the kids had never seen white people before.  So driving (or while we walked for a bit) you go by groups of people on the road side, and I hear that phrase, “Wait Meri, Wait Meri.”  Often it is said excitedly, with waves and lots of children jumping around.  Sometimes you see tears, or looks of confusion.  You never know what reaction you will get, but the first one is easier to take!  The kids in church are great too, for mixed reactions come all the time.  Luckily, I only made one little guy cry just by looking.  Lots more smiles from the rest of the kids. 

While we were driving back, I got to thinking about these reactions, as I waved for the twenty-fifth or fiftieth time to a group of small kids.  For some reason Martin Luther King Jr. came to mind and his statement about his children, that he wanted them to, “not be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  (Forgive me everyone for taking this slightly out of context, I in no way desire to downplay his “I have a dream” speech.)  I wish the world was color blind like this, that skin color didn’t cause a reaction but that character did.

 I thought about three of the young boys in the church, probably between 9-12 years old, who sat up front and couldn’t seem to take their eyes off of the three college boys who were leading worship.   I thought of the teenage girl, Ruth, who seemed to become fast friends with Robina, one of the 2^nd year college students.  We had sat next to her while waiting for the first service to start and she had that same look of admiration that the boys did.  Robina talked with her the whole way down to the baptism service, a half hour walk.  I remembered being a little kid and looking up to the college age singing groups or camp counselors that would come to church or be at summer camp.   The college of nursing students got to be those ones that were being looked up to.  The numerous kids and many adults were able to see their hearts for Christ, and hearts that worship!  I was excited for them, and for those kids that were able to spend even a little bit of time with some wonderful Christian examples.  The students showed what Christ is doing in their lives, and what hard work and studying can lead to.  Education is not a given here, and it was especially evident in this area.

I pray that those children would be impacted by that short trip and that they would have other role models of Christ and what He can do in our lives. 

I pray that I can make an impact here that isn’t based on my skin color, but on the character of the one who lives in me, Jesus Christ.     

I pray that we can all get eyes like the Lord, that go deeper than skin deep, that we can learn the lesson Samuel did in 1 Samuel 16:7 when God said, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at, people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”