Hunger for God?

I remember visiting the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, Russia in 1995.   This church had a Thursday night service as well as a Wednesday night service as part of their routine.   I went on a Thursday night.   I arrived about an hour early because I didn’t know what time the service actually began.   To my surprise, hundreds of people had already begun to arrive and wait outside the unopened building.  Nearly all the people had walked great distances to come early so they might get a seat.  When the building was opened, I was surprised and excited to see every seat filled and many folks lining the walls of the sanctuary.  All seemed to have a hunger and an expectancy to meet with God!  Then later, when the Senior Pastor issued a call to prayer, many people crawled the aisles to the altar, sobbing and praying as they went.

I saw this same hunger for God and love for His church throughout Russia, and in the underground churches I visited in both China and Vietnam.

Then I come home to our American churches where many of our people struggle to even be on time.   I don’t see the same hunger on the faces, nor the expectancy to meet with God.   And I have wondered, “What is the difference?”   And I come to a painful conclusion . . . we don’t yet know persecution as they do!     This then, leads me to more not yet answered questions. . . .