Feet of Clay

Living and working in Gulf Province I am well familiar with having my feet covered in mud and clay, but that is not my theme. Rather, it is the reality of my human fallibility as I put one foot in front of the other living my life and using my gifts in the way I can and the place where I have made my home. Do not put me on a pedestal, I do not deserve it!

Travelling in Australia for four months and speaking about my work to churches and other groups, I was encouraged by how much interest people had in my work, and humbled by the kind things people said about me. In many ways though, it is easier to live out my Christian faith in PNG than it is for my friends at home in Australia. I deal with challenges of power, water, communication and culture. You deal with disinterest and prejudice.

Here, people are interested in the spiritual world, and want to talk with me about God. They want the Bible in a language they can understand so that they can read it and make sense of it in their daily lives. At home, where there are many Bible options and Christian resources, raising the issue of Christian faith and life is not easy. I think this disinterest is a bigger challenge than the physical challenges I deal with.

Compared to PNG, Australia has a limited sense of the eternal. Here, most things tie in to a picture that stretches back to ancestors and forward to descendants. In my Australian home, "life is short and then you die" is the philosophy of many. To talk about a life lived for God now, and with God eternally, is not a popular topic.

In Australia, we are so rich in resources and opportunities that we forget our reliance on God. In PNG, that is a lot harder to forget. I am regularly faced with the reality of tasks and situations which are well beyond my means. Even the daily things of life are not guaranteed, and teach me to trust. It also shows me how much I try to rely on my own strength and planning, and not on God.

When it comes to a life lived by faith, we are all on a journey. I have my good days as well as my bad days, situations where I trust God and situations where I rely on human wisdom and practice. In this I am no different to anyone else. Knowing myself I know I do not deserve the pedestal that some place me on at times. I have feet of clay.

Being part of God's mission in the world is not about going to the other, although some of us are called to go across to the other side. It is about being salt and light in the world, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.  I am not the only one in mission, you are too, and I hope that we can inspire each other to keep putting one foot in front of the other as we walk by faith, each in our own situation.