Looking back up at Elvis, he smiled at me. A smile that shattered my heart which I am so quick to harden and he said this to me: "Joel, The Kingdom of Heaven is for such as these." and he picked up one of his young students who was playing. Then he opened a Bible and we wept with joy and laughter as he read me two powerful scriptures.
The first was, Rom. 8:37-39: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced, that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus."
The second was 2 Cor. 6:4-10 "As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings , imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in our right hand and in our left; through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything!"
And with eyes dimmed by tears he looked at me and cried, “We are captured and in love with a God who cares."
Wow. I have spent the day since our meeting thinking of all that was said between Elvis and I. As I went about the rest of my day I looked around at the smiling faces and at the mirth of a people who had so little and I found him, the answer to the question that had haunted me earlier this morning. Where was God? God was in this camp, in these huts, with these people, He was in their hearts! Having nothing, they truly possessed everything!
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