In the Darkest Places

One of the highlights of this past trip to East Asia was praying through a Buddhist temple. I love Asian culture and architecture. I love dragons and lanterns and old buildings. So my reaction to the ancient places and artifacts is not usually sadness. But here in this place, watching people engage in various forms of idol worship, my heart was breaking. I watched as a mother showed her young son how to rub his hands on this golden dragon and transfer it to his eyes and ears and body.

Our host who took us to this particular temple encouraged us to slow down and really observe the people in their worship: the resident monks who chant invitations and the visitors to beg blessings. As I made eye contact with those who would, I asked their Creator to enlighten their hearts and minds with His truth. My strongest memory is standing close to a huge bowl of incense. As the smoke rose in my face and engulfed me, I prayed Revelation 5:8 - our prayers go up before the Lord as golden bowls of incense. What a privilege it was to pray in the moment for the people in EA whom I love.

It was interesting to me that people would place fruit and flowers created by the true God before the images of false gods with no life inside them. Here is a fabulous tree growing in the midst of these vast temple grounds. God's beauty is here. He is watching, loving, calling people who are searching for truth. We prayed that they would have ears to hear.

Just before we left, I borrowed Shala's ipod and listened to Steve Fee's song Who Have I. It is my favorite worship song of late and very fitting lyrically for where we were. I sang, "In the darkest places you are light, in my deadest spaces you're my light..." as those around me carried out their rituals. Just as Suellen and I were talking about the bondage holding people to this form of worship, we looked up to see this dragon on the roof chained to the top of the temple...very telling.