Problem sprouts in the garden
For three weeks the Uriay people of Papua New Guinea have listened to lessons about Creation.
"The stage is set, the players have been introduced -- let the story unfold," wrote missionary Elias Struik.
As they listened to the day by day account of Creation, the Uriays were most interested in the various species available for food. The missionaries told them not to think of how good the fish would taste or about how God created bananas but to think of what they were learning about the Creator God.
Dakruma, Imi, Keyna, those quiet ladies sitting on the front row beaming, replied, "Yes, Yahweh, God, He made it all by His own strength. He didn’t go to school. His thinking wasn’t short. He didn’t sweat. He didn’t need all those things Himself. He prepared it for us. He is good. He always has been there."
The missionaries were delighted that the Uriay were beginning to understand God’s purpose but soon a cultural conflict erupted. In their culture, a garden is where a husband and wife initiate marital relations.
That would not be a problem except that they consider sex as the evil thing that messed up everything in the beginning. So when the missionaries explained that God set Adam and Eve in the garden, the Uriays were shocked. "Why would God do that?" they wondered.
Pray that the Uriays will understand that God is good and everything He created is good. Pray also that they will realize their cultural view is contrary to God’s Word.
"Like a lion, God’s Word is doing the work that only He can do in the lives and hearts of the Uriays," wrote Elias. "It’s a small beginning and it is His doing."
"The stage is set, the players have been introduced -- let the story unfold," wrote missionary Elias Struik.
As they listened to the day by day account of Creation, the Uriays were most interested in the various species available for food. The missionaries told them not to think of how good the fish would taste or about how God created bananas but to think of what they were learning about the Creator God.
Dakruma, Imi, Keyna, those quiet ladies sitting on the front row beaming, replied, "Yes, Yahweh, God, He made it all by His own strength. He didn’t go to school. His thinking wasn’t short. He didn’t sweat. He didn’t need all those things Himself. He prepared it for us. He is good. He always has been there."
The missionaries were delighted that the Uriay were beginning to understand God’s purpose but soon a cultural conflict erupted. In their culture, a garden is where a husband and wife initiate marital relations.
That would not be a problem except that they consider sex as the evil thing that messed up everything in the beginning. So when the missionaries explained that God set Adam and Eve in the garden, the Uriays were shocked. "Why would God do that?" they wondered.
Pray that the Uriays will understand that God is good and everything He created is good. Pray also that they will realize their cultural view is contrary to God’s Word.
"Like a lion, God’s Word is doing the work that only He can do in the lives and hearts of the Uriays," wrote Elias. "It’s a small beginning and it is His doing."