I wish I could tell you everything in my heart about a very special mentor. Her name is Aunty Clara and I met her when I was a young pastor during my very first time preaching at my church in Mossman, QLD. We got talking after a delicious potluck lunch. Clara was a very striking sight: a respected local Aboriginal elder with oculocutaneous albinism. She told me she loved God and church and that she would attend as many of the churches in the community as she could—she didn’t mind what denomination. As we talked, I began to ask her about her family. With a tear in her eye, she began to talk about beloved nieces and nephews in the community. As the conversation progressed, she talked about how some of them were struggling with significant challenges, obstacles and problems. Then, as if hit by an epiphany, she brightened up and said, “You could come around and pray for them, pastor!” Heartily I agreed and we made a series of appointments where we would go visiting together in the town and she would introduce me to family and friends who were struggling. After greeting them and catching up she would say, “This is the new SDA (Seventh-day Adventist) pastor! He’s gonna pray for you.” Then we would pray. Sometimes for a sick baby, sometimes for a broken family, sometimes for someone under spiritual attack, sometimes for a grief-stricken bereaved relative. It was so beautiful to feel the infinite peace from God descend into the situation. Often when we were finished, the people had tears in their eyes.
As we drove around from house to house together, on a number of occasions, Aunty Clara began sharing with me about her life when she was a little girl attending the mission church. She told me about getting up to mischief in the bush, going to school, her loved ones, her struggles, her victories and, most importantly, her personal relationship with God. He was everything to her and His presence was tangible around her. She talked about how many times she felt she would have died if God had not protected her and how many times He had showed His hand for her in providence, protection or peace, just in the nick of time. As she spoke, her face shone with love for a Saviour who she did not just know personally, but whose Spirit clearly dwelt within her.
“You know pastor, our people have always known God”.
A profoundly spiritual and constantly praying woman, Aunty Clara was often aware of the presence of evil spirits in bad situations, and she would ask God to drive them away. She said that she also often saw God’s angels standing above her house protecting her. She shared with me stories from the mission, but also things that were important to her culturally. If she had a health problem, I or my senior pastor would pray for her in her home or in the hospital. She was always deeply appreciative of our visits. I felt very privileged and blessed to be trusted in this way.
One day as we were laughing, talking and sharing together, this godly lady turned to me and said: “You know pastor, our people have always known God. He cared for us long before we ever had the Bible to understand Him.”
I thought about that a lot.
I’d often been taught that before missionaries with Bibles came to cultures that weren’t Christian, they had no knowledge or experience with God. From a Christian perspective, of course, there are always traditional beliefs and practices in all cultures that clearly aren’t right (including Western culture today). But could it be possible that God shows up in relationship with people long before they hear about Jesus—not because they understand everything correctly about Him, but because He truly loves and cares for them?
Could it be that God speaks to the hearts of everyone, not just Christians?
It made me think of something the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:14,15:
“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.”
Could it be that God speaks to the hearts of everyone, not just Christians, and shows them little pieces of truth about who He is and what is right? Could it be that He judges us all individually based on the amount of knowledge He has given to us and whether we have walked with Him according to conscience and that understanding we have?
When I started to process this, it gave new power to some of Jesus’ most simple and profound words. Like, for example, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32, italics added).
Because of Aunty Clara, I now believe that when we all get to the new Creation imagined in Revelation 21, we will meet many, many people who we might not have expected to see. I believe that in some mysterious, unseen way, the Holy Spirit moved on their hearts and revealed enough about God so that they could look to Him in faith and be saved. Or, as Adventist pioneer Ellen White expressed, “Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognised as the children of God.”1 All those people will be there because Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment of their sins, too, and they will have eternity to celebrate and explore the depths of what Christ did for them.
So today I preach the gospel of the cross of Jesus, not because I believe God is too small to find a way to save people who haven’t heard it, but because it’s the clearest revelation of His love. I saw it in Aunty Clara’s eyes. I hope people can see it in mine too.
- Ellen G White, The Desire of Ages. Pacific Press Publishing Company, 1898. ↩︎
