Yesterday, when I was out selling bread, I stopped in to check on Abel. He was taking a nap but got up to let me in to see the progress. Inch by inch, he’s getting there. He said they planned to lacquer the cabinets today.
Because of all the planing he does, he has quite an accumulation of wood shavings. I had asked a few weeks back if I could buy some, but he had offered to fill as many sacks as I want for free. I was supposed to pick them up yesterday afternoon.
Unsurprisingly, the sacks were not filled. He said he’d have them done next Monday, but I offered to fill them myself. He said he’d go ahead and help me right then. So, we filled up several large sacks together.
While we worked, we talked. He wanted to know which candidate I would vote for to be President in the States. That gave me a chance to talk about why we do not vote because Jesus calls God’s people to be separate from the world and its systems and to live as citizens of heaven now.
He then asked what I thought of President Trump. He said many people in Peru view him as a despot. That gave me an opportunity to talk about how God expects us to respect and obey and even love those in authority over us, regardless of whether they may act deserving of those things or not.
That seemed to be hard for him to believe. It was hard for Rafael, too. Rafael was very upset that they couldn’t come for Walter’s birthday. I insisted we obey the regulations, which clearly say all social gatherings are prohibited. That has been extended again through the end of October.
Rafael said that we don’t have to obey the Peruvian President because he and the government are corrupt. I agreed that may be the case, but they can’t be as bad as the Emperor Nero, and believers were called to respect and submit to even him.
Rafael said only God is our king. We have to obey only Him. To which I eagerly agreed. Rafael looked triumphant until I explained that God commanded that I respect and love and obey the government of Peru, so to obey God, I must obey the government.
“What I tell you goes in one ear and out the other,” he said, smacking his hands on the counter for emphasis. “No one is obeying the quarantine, David. You don’t have to, either.”
“Even if we are the only family obeying in Anta, we want to do what God says.”
Elisabet interjected, “Your family is a good example, Señor David. Rafael is good, too, but he gets caught by anger sometimes.”
These are the sorts of everyday conversations I have with my customers. I admit, it is wearying to be alone–in multiple ways–yet, it is also fulfilling to be walking with the Lord. And with Him, we’re never alone.
Juan David 