I should have just sat down…

There is plenty of religious imagery in Europe even though it is the only continent where the Christian church is not growing.

I should have just sat down and let EB give the rest of the message. After speaking for nearly an hour through a translator to college students in Brno, Czech Republic, I asked EB to come forward and share her story. EB did a fantastic job with the Czech students. My seminar was about the reliability of the Bible and I presented a lot of facts. In a country where the Bible is considered outdated and irrelevant, the facts are important. And I may have presented lots of head knowledge but what really made an impression with the students was when EB spoke of her heart knowledge.

EB instantly connected with the Czech students by speaking of her Czech roots. She spoke of her great-grandfather and his wife, Frank and Katrina Bizek, and how they homesteaded on the Kansas prairie after immigrating from Czech. Yet she also told how her father Paul Biays, who taught college literature, logic and philosophy, was also a pastor who taught his family, his church and even his college students about the trust-worthiness of Scripture.

EB also mentioned how since she was a young girl the Bible has guided her in her major life decisions and even today how we are raising our children to treasure and learn from the Bible. Maybe this doesn’t seem like much to an American Christian ear but to our post-Communist Czech audience, where today’s greatest religious influence is secularism, EB’s testimony had a profound impact.

After the lecture many great gospel conversations took place. I am continuing several of these conversations by email. The evangelical ministry that invited us to speak (http://www.kvz.cz/english/), received contact info from the students who attended and are following up those who expressed more interest in knowing Christ personally.

The next morning I shared from the Bible what the Lord had been teaching me lately with the staff of KVZ, the Czech evangelical ministry that hosted EB and me. Our hosts were wonderful and so appreciative. EB and I have bonded with the Czech Christians in that ministry!

Much of missions work is tedious, difficult and unexciting. Every once in a while though you break through the clouds and the warmth of the glory of God shines in your face. EB and I found our time in Brno, Czech Republic to be such a moment. On the train ride back to Budapest EB and I together thanked God for great opportunities like this one that He has given us during our years here in Eastern Europe!

You know you are a long way from home when the signs are in three languages, none of which are English!

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul rises majestically above the other buildings of Brno. Unfortunately, less than ½ of 1 percent of the Czech population is evangelical with atheism being the dominant worldview in this country.

Two more pictures from Brno that are quintessentially European…

"The Cabbage Market," an open air market in the center of Brno.

This is the cleaning lady's contribution to a photo I really like.

How can a God who is all loving send someone to hell?

We had a birthday recently. Rebekah turned 10 years old. She got one of the best presents an American kid living overseas could receive: Oreos!



Savannah, EB, Rebekah and Elizabeth (Liz).

I was drinking cappuccino in the dining car of the train that was taking me from Budapest to the Czech city of Brno, where I was scheduled to speak that night. We were passing rolling hills and small villages along the Danube river in the northern part of Hungary. We even passed the Visegrad castle perched on a high hilltop above the river. I remember praying, “Thank You, Lord, that I can take Your message of reconciliation into a country where You are largely ignored. What an awesome privilege. I certainly must have the greatest job in the world!”

The Czech Republic is a country of 12 million people, yet has the same ratio of evangelicals as Poland: ½ of 1 percent of the population. In spite of the rich Czech history of the Moravians and the Hussites, the Czech people have shown little interest in the gospel since the fall of Communism. Yet when I arrived in Brno and met the staff of this student ministry (a group aligned with but not a part of Campus Crusade for Christ), my heart was encouraged. These Czech missionaries are working the campus at Brno, along with several other universities inside of Czech. Also EB’s mom’s family comes from Bohemia, which is modern day western Czech; my wife and children all have Czech blood.

After touring the city for 2 hours, I gave my presentation to 60 students on “If God is all-loving and all-powerful, how do we make sense of the evil and suffering around us?” After my talk, which was translated into Czech, I fielded some questions. When that was over, several students wanted to ask me questions one-on-one, including one young lady with tears in her eyes. “How can a God who is all loving send someone to hell, even if that person sincerely searched for God?” I took a deep breath, smiled and attempted answer to her plea.

“First, I appreciate your heart. It shows a tender spirit. I understand this is a difficult issue. It is for me too. Second, God created hell because many people want nothing to do with God. They shake their fist at God or ignore Him their whole lives. When they die, they merely get what they have spent their whole physical lives pursuing…separation from God. Therefore God would not be just if He didn’t create hell.

Third, I believe no one deserves heaven; rather we all deserve hell due to our rebellion against God and His incomprehensible holiness. So the fact that heaven is even an option for us is an indication of God’s grace toward mankind. And God maintained His just nature not by merely waving off our sin but by extracting in its entirety the penalty for our sin. Therefore even though there is a hell, God is still the Most Just Judge and the Greatest Love in the universe. (I didn’t but I should have at this point quoted Athanasius, an influential Christian theologian, when he said back in the third century, “What kind of person must He have been to bring us the salvation that He alone could have and did bring to us?”)

Fourth, I believe in hell because Jesus teaches about hell. And I trust Jesus. I may not always understand Him fully but I trust Him. Fifth, in a direct response to your question, I believe the Lord will move heaven and earth to get the gospel to those who truly seek Him. I reject the idea that God is unable or unwilling to get the gospel to those who honestly seek Him. In fact Ronnie (my pastor in Budapest who speaks frequently to this student group) travels to Iraq several times a year to meet with 13 Iraqi pastors. 11 of those 13 pastors came to faith in Christ because Jesus appeared to each of them individually in a dream and said, “Follow Me.” No Four Spiritual Laws, no TV preacher, no Jesus film showing. The Lord is prepared to do whatever it takes to call His sheep to Himself.”

She smiled, wiped away a tear, thanked me and left. I’m not sure if my words were helpful to her or not. But the staff there said I connected well with the students and even said they are anxious to have me back again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Matt

A view of Brno, Czech.