Sin and Death



Praising the Healer!



I recently heard and confirmed yet another awful statistic about Swaziland. Not only do we have the highest rate of HIV-AIDS and TB in the world, we now have the lowest average life expectancy as well (a little over 31 years). It was very easy for me to draw the simplistic conclusion that the first two caused the third, which of course is probably true. I hoped to lead one of the ladies’ Bible study groups I lead here to the same conclusion so that I could then hammer home some strong exhortations about safe sex, sex within marriage only, etc.  Surely, in my great wisdom I could save a few lives this way, right? But God’s ways are so much higher than our ways, and He patiently teaches me again and again to lean not on my own understanding. When I posed the issue of the latest statistic (horribly low life expectancy) to the group, and asked them what they thought, they did not respond the same way I had. They thoughtfully, one after another, spoke of sin, sin’s consequences, and the need for true spiritual revival. They spoke with complete faith of the need for The Savior, The Healer, The Creator and Life-Giver to be revered and obeyed. YES. Humbled, again, by the wisdom of these faith-filled followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, and their simple, Bible-based wisdom vs. my “educated” mind. Please pray with me for a TRUE turnaround in Swaziland—spiritually first, but also physically, for these precious people I am honored to know as my brothers and sisters.