Not What I Expected To Find In Granada

I had a wonderful week in Granada, Spain, at the Comibam conference. Around 2,000 people gathered to discuss the realities of mobilizing, training and caring for Latin missionaries throughout the world. I met with a number of leaders and talked through strategy, healthy partnerships and training.

However, that is not what is going to remain in my memory from this week.

On Thursday, I was walking from my hotel to the conference center. Crossing a rather picturesque pedestrian bridge, I happened to look into the small river flowing below just as the lady walking next to me began to scream. Looking again at the scene below me I realized that I was gazing at the body of a naked man... a very dead, naked man.

While the Spanish lady next to me began to yell into her cell phone (Note to self: screaming rarely helps the police identify the location of a possible crime), I took in several details very quickly. The man seemed to be in his late 30's. His tan lines indicated that he had spent a great deal of time out of doors. The strangest thing about him was that he looked so normal... he could have been one of my friends.

I won't bore you with the details of the next few minutes. After all the excitement was over and I had resumed my now rather somber walk to my meetings, I kept wondering how that man had begun his day. I wondered if he had any idea that this was going to be his last day on earth. And, as I walked to a conference of mission's people, I couldn't help wondering if he had ever heard about the Jesus we claimed we were so interested in sharing with the world.

One of the things that I had been thinking about even before seeing this poor fellow's “earthly tent with no one home" was how little I had heard about Jesus Christ this week. Lots of strategy, lots of dreams and lots of new tools... not much Jesus.

I love being a missionary. It is how Susan and I have chosen to invest most of our adult lives. Still, none of this has any value if we forget what it is all about. Jesus. It is that simple. It is not brain science or rocket theory. It is a simple message for simple people.

I still wonder if anyone had ever shared that simple message with my friend from the river.