Parkway Baptist Church McKinney

We ministered for three days in the Romanian community of Odobesti then moved our evangelistic focus to a village called Petrachioaia. The people in both places were poor, but life for the Petrachioaians appeared somewhat better. Odobesti is older and further away from the big city of Bucharest. Petrachioaia is closer and more recently developed.

Beautiful fruit trees, vineyards and vegetable gardens compensate for the drab structures in which the villagers live. At almost any point along the way you can step across a ditch and pick ripe cherries from low-hanging limbs. One such tree shaded the bench where two men and a woman sat waiting for transportation. We approached them to proclaim the gospel.

I looked up into a tree while my translator asked permission to present Jesus. They could tell I didn’t understand the conversation. Picking a handful of cherries I monitored their response with peripheral vision. I was trying not to glare while I waited for their response. When the locals turn down the corners of their mouth and wag their head from side to side, I can’t tell if they are acquiescing or refusing. So I asked Anka what they said. She replied, “He wants to know why this matters so much to you.”

I’ve made at least five trips to Romania, and through translators I’ve had lots of conversations in the city and in villages. It has been my practice to conduct interviews. I want to understand their experience in life so that I can appreciate their opinions and emotions. So I ask them what life is like in Romania, what they like and dislike about Romanian culture, and what they would change if they could. I have found their answers to be honest, their opinions to be dogmatic, and their faith to be confused. But I genuinely enjoy showing them respect by listening.

In all of these conversations I’ve never had anyone ask me the question, “Why does this matter so much to you.” This serious challenge grabbed my attention. Now it was my turn to be interrogated. Now it was my turn to give an honest, thoughtful answer. So why does the gospel itself matter so much to me? Why does its proclamation matter so much to me? What is my concern for the Romanian people? Is it genuine or merely religious? And, do I have a genuine concern for all people?

I turned to make eye contact with the man. I stood before him wearing fresh clean clothes. I was carrying a backpack, bottled water and a good camera. He sat there as a poor farmer in work clothes. My posture, culture and wealth could have made me feel superior. But the question he posed while sitting in the shade made me feel the heat where I stood. Why would we fly ten thousand miles to tell Romanians what they should believe about Christ? Why does this matter so much to me?

My immediate answer went something like this. “This matters to me because the gospel is true. All men are sinners. God’s Son died for our sins. And faith in Jesus is the only way to be saved from our sins. That’s why sharing the gospel is so important to me.”

I was so stunned by the question and preoccupied with the answer, I don’t remember if we received permission to share the gospel. I’m still wondering if I gave a sufficient answer. I think the Apostle Paul would give this answer:

2Cor. 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

2Cor. 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.