The Way of Peace

Luke 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

This was Jesus Christ's mission, and here in Ghana it is our mission also. We have been sent to guide people, to teach them the gospel truth's of the Bible so that they can understand salvation and be guided into the way of peace. Some say, but why is your family going? Are not the churches in Africa growing, are not many new 'converts' being saved each day. To this we say these verses...

Isaiah 59:8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.


Romans 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:

Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

This path of peace is what they have sought for and not found. They have been given religion. I believe Africa to be one of most religious places in the world. They been given many things: The Word of God with no understanding, the works of spirits without the Holy Spirit, the Cross without the Redemption, the New Testament without the Old, and Christiainity without conversion!

But one thing that all these programs, aid groups, and denomational investors have not given is Peace- and along with it Love, Hope, and Joy!

The African might have a song on his lips, food in his stomach, and clothes on his body, which is all good, but he has NO PEACE in his heart!

Here in Africa peace is King. It is what is most sought after. Even in our past it was the highest virtue to obtain. One might not have had peace outside of his tribe, but he always sought for it inside his community. Even here in the Akan, our highest diety that interacted with man was Asasa Yaa. She is the goddess of Earth. Her rule was over the laws of community and her main concern was in mantaining order and peace. But, no matter how much the African wants it, weather he be Traditional, Muslim, or 'christian', the peace he seeks is always alluding him. He seeks to cover transgressions, but the heart boils. He seeks to gain favor for his life from the gods, or God, but peace never comes. It is a phantom that casts its shadow across the path, but can never be felt or seen. He works hard going to prayer camps, church meetings, even 'witnessing' to the lost. But no matter how many times he is delievered from spirits, no matter how long he speaks in tongues, not matter how much he obeys the commands of the missionary, it still does not come to his heart.

What they do not know is that this is not the way that they are to go. THE WAY that Christ has set before us, and given unto us, has not been shown to so so many here in these great lands.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Christ and His sacrifice can bring peace to these hungry souls.

Even those that know the truths of the Gospel and Divide the Word rightly, are so often bound by church practices and procedures that are so deeply rooted in Westerner Culture, instead of Bible Culture, that we never think to do more than copy the patterns that we have seen and heard in our Bible colleges oversea.

This is not intended to be a rant that is given about the wrongs of missions, but a post about the need of the people of this great continent. Even now as I write this post, I can hear the sound of singing. The children in the local school are singing and drumming. They sing loudly and speak in unison. They are not singing the old songs of the past, but new songs of the present. But, though I can hear the 'amens' of the students, and understand the 'praises' in Twi to Almighty God, I hear no peace. I see no joy. Once the drum beat stops, the pulse and excitement is reduced, so goes the happiness that is the only distraction that they have. The body is touched, but the spirit is empty.

For these our new people, we cry! We beg! For those that have been placed in a greater darkness. Not the darkness of witchcraft and magic, but the more dangerous and deadly darkness of the pre-dawn. In the early morning fog, where it is not quite day and not quite night. Here they sit filled with religion and DEATH! With Amens on thier lips and cruses in their souls! For these that are walking without peace we cry and ask... WHO will come and help?

Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Is it Broken?

When a Westerner comes to Africa and stays long enough for the initial excitement to wear off, he gets his first taste of culture shock. He sees the system, the people interacting, the daily motion of all the parts of the cultural clock, but it seems to him as if something is broken! He sees all the problems, the poverty, the inefficiency of the whole, and his western mind starts working on solutions. He thinks like I did: You know if they just had a bus schedule then ..., if the police would just arrest instead of taking bribes then... if, if, if!!! The Westerner gives all the answers that work within his world view. He thinks that if he was to be in charge for about six months, he would fix the whole thing. And, if God does not help him, that is what he seeks out to do in his circle of influence.

But the question is, is it broken?

To answer that question, I have learned that I had to go deeper. Truth is only found when you look below the surface. A friend of mine told me a Nigerian fable: A man is walking down the road, and as he passes a crowd of people they all stop him and complain that the load that he is carrying on his head is quite crooked. They keep saying that if he is not careful the load will fall off. The man just replies with a smile and says, "You all say that my load is crooked, and that is true, but while looking at my load, you never thought to look at my legs!" And as he walks away, they all see that he has one leg badly damaged by polio which causes him to lean greatly to one side. The point of the story is this: many can see a leaning load, but only those that look well can see why!

To see if the system is broken, we have to know the reason that it was built. I have found that nothing explains the heart of a culture more than its main religion. This will determine the focus of the whole; the goal that it was made to reach. In every people group, the people in that group are trying to get to their 'heaven' and trying to follow the rules that gain its enterance. Unless you know this, you will never really understand those people.

In the West we have had one dominant religion for over 2,000 years. For about 1,400 of those years, all thought, all religion was controlled by one group - the Catholic church. The rules of the Catholic church were the key. If an individual kept these rules, they gained eternal life, or at least the chance of Heaven after Purgatory. This system of belief became very deeply ingrained in us in the West. It became a core belief that what one does with a set truth (or faith) will determine one's fate.

But in Africa, this has not been the case. In Africa, from time unknown, the religion has been one without written rules. African traditional relgions have never had holy writings, but not having holy books does not mean there are no rules. It is a religion of very few but very important rules. Not to oversimplify a continent of peoples with thousands of languages and many cultures, but all traditional religions have at their heart this one truth. In Africa we are Animists. This means that we worship our ancestors. So you are thinking, ok, great, so what. Well, here is the point of it all. The key for eternity is not a written rule, creed, or faith, it is PEOPLE! People are the key to eternal life. Traditional African religious beliefs state that the only way your soul remains in this earth, in the present spirit world, is that it is venerated (worshipped) by its descendents. So what does this mean in plain English? Relationship is key. If you are my son, and you do not like me - to the point that when I die you do not worship my spirit - then my spirit ceases to exist. In Western terminology, that is tantamount to going to hell. To secure eternal hope, I must secure earthly realtionships.

This is the difference: the West has been formed around the belief that a faith or a set of rules is most important, while the African world has been set up around the belief that relationship is most important. What seems so broken to you, is in fact working perfectly for the African! You cannot, would not, risk relationships over such small things as traffic rules, city laws, and church doctrines. These are minor in the African mindset, relationship is king!

So, for those Westerners that live in this misunderstood system, it helps to know why the whole thing works the way it does. Once the missionary understands the system, he can move on to fix the real problems, not waste time on the surface. If you want to help Africa, you must reach its people, for people are the key!