Welcome back to another episode in our “Advent Adventure.”
Our first night at Naja was miserable. Torrents of rain poured down, soaking our sleeping bags and leaving us shivering in the cold. At last, we erected a plastic tarp where we could gather underneath and build a fire. Our local Tzeltal guides were as cold and wet as we were.
As we huddled together, I decided to elicit some new vocabulary. My notebooks were full of phrases like, “It is raining,” “He is looking at the fire,” “Are we ready to eat?” and “I am cold.” Can you tell what was on my mind?
Later in the afternoon, a local man from a different language group came by to purchase some medicine for his child. He spoke Lacandon, and our staff spoke Tzeltal so, of necessity, they communicated in Spanish. I listened as Tiburcio, one of our guides, shared the message of Christ with the visitor. It was no accident that Tiburcio used the story of the Tower of Babel to illustrate man’s rebellion against God! Tiburcio was not concerned with the rain and discomfort. He was concerned for the man who had a sick child.
What a contrast to my focus. All I had thought of was my own hunger and the numbing cold.
When Jesus was in the wilderness, he could have focused on his own hunger, thirst and discomfort. But he chose to focus on God’s Word. When Satan came calling, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
As you prepare for Christmas, where are your thoughts focused?
