When we became missionaries, we were disinherited by our family. We had no money. We often had to go hungry. I have seen my oldest son faint several times because we did not have food to give him. My second child became mentally challenged because of hunger and our inability to meet her medical needs. It was difficult for me to go without food for days but it was much harder for me to see my children starving. It was hard for me to wear torn clothes as a missionary, but it was harder to watch my children shiver in cold winters. It was shameful for us when we were made fun of because of our faith, but it was much harder to see our children being treated as untouchables because of our decision to follow Jesus Christ. It was hard to live in fear of being raped or killed, but it was harder to see our children living through persecution and harassment. However, even during our hardest moments we always found strength in knowing that our God is faithful. In fact, one of the hymns I learnt much earlier in my Christian walk and was a tremendous source of strength to me was,
“Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!
Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.”
He had called us to serve Him. We were and are committed to worship Him through obedience, even if that meant having to lay down our lives. Today, I want to encourage you to worship Him through obedience, total obedience.
Lilly Vargis
