Radical
Love
Russia
in
Boarding a train in Oktyabrski, Russia,
a team of missionaries from One Mission
Society had two minutes to load their
equipment and the team members into
the car. Moving through the narrow corridor, crowded with men shouting in Russian
and holding open bottles of alcohol, was
not a small task. Managing his way through
the chaos, Jim reached his compartment,
falling into one of the empty seats. Across
from him sat a large, muscular man in a
black suit. While the man’s friends taunted
Jim from the doorway of the compartment,
the man only glared.
“Dobra vecher, menya zavoot Jim (Good
evening, my name is Jim),” Jim said, smiling and extending his hand. The man
grabbed his hand, pulling Jim to his face,
and growled, “I am a KGB major, and I hate
Americans.” Jim’s heart pounded even
more than it had from the struggle to get
to his seat. In a flash, he prayed silently for
help. Not breaking his smile, Jim replied in
6
By Beth Jordal,
Communications Department,
One Mission Society
his broken Russian, “I understand, but I love
Russia and the Russian people.” The man
paused, blinked a few times, and then collapsed back into his seat as he released Jim’s
hand. Silently, Jim offered thanks to God,
then remembered the proverb, “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).
Jim was able to give this gentle answer
because God had broken his heart for the
Russian people. When he arrived in Russia
about four months earlier, fear gripped him
as soon as he closed the door to his flat. In
humility, he admitted his fear to God and
begged, “Give me your love for the Russian
people, God.” Immediately, his heart overflowed with joy, and he could not wait to
meet the Russians in his midst. Through
prayer, radical love burgeoned from a radical dependence on God. This is just