I read online about an interesting ritual among young girls in a community of the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. They are married thrice; firstly at age 9-10 to a god that they worship, secondly, a couple of years later, to the sun and thirdly to a man at around 25 years of age. Marriage to a god is symbolized by marrying the young girl to the fruit of the wood-apple tree, a representation of their god. Marriage to the sun takes place by the girl spending 12 nights in a dark room, a ritual that earns her protection according to local beliefs. Most of us may find this strange, even funny; but for them who have grown up believing and practicing these things, it's a part of life.
As believers in the salvation that is made available by God through Jesus Christ, for a moment, we may feel sad when we read such things, but does it spur us on to take the good news of the Gospel to the spiritually impoverished?
Here's what the Apostle Paul writes to the believers in Rome....
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:13-15)
Wherever we live in the world, we have all been assigned tasks for the kingdom of God. Only time will tell how faithful we have been to the Lord's calling in our lives.
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