WHAT IS YOUR OX?

Last night Vicente Castro arrived at our weekly servant-leaders’ prayer
meeting and shared a story that challenged all of us present. I would
like to share it with you too...

Vicente recently left Guayaquil to plant churches full-time in a small
village called America, close to Jipijapa, Manabí, about 2 hours from
Guayaquil. For sometime he had been travelling to and from Jipijapa
every weekend. But God challenged him to leave behind the comforts
of the big city to live among the people he was reaching with the gospel;
that God would supply his needs. The fruits of Vicente’s obedience are
8 new house churches. The following is what led him to take such a
radical step...

When Vicente started sharing from Leviticus 1:1-9 I had no idea what
he was talking about. This passage gives the Old Testament rules for
presenting a burnt offering of livestock to the Lord: that it should be a
male without blemish, how it should be cut-up and that it should be
completely burnt (a holocaust). What has a burnt offering got to do with
obeying God and stepping out in faith?

Then Vicente shared how the book of Exodus tells of God delivering his
people from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. On the day that Pharaoh
finally agreed to “let my people go”, the Israelites didn’t leave Egypt
empty-handed, but were given jewellery, clothing and a great number of
livestock by the Egyptians who wanted to be rid of them (Ex.12:33-42).

Vicente said that he could imagine one such Israeli man (we will call
him Jesse) who, looking over the herd of his Egyptian master, saw a fat
juicy ox, the best in the herd and asked to take it with him. His master
said “it’s yours” and Jesse left happily with the ox, thinking of how great
a resource it would be when he got to the promised land of Canaan.

(NB. for those OT scholars amongst us you might decry the liberty
taken here because Ex.9:1-7 tells of how God had already wiped out all
the livestock of the Egyptians but not of the Israelites. Let’s just say
that it is possible that the Egyptian masters then took their pick of the
Israeli herds. Regardless, the story doesn’t rest on this detail, Jesse
could just as easily taken the best ox of his own flock with him).

So Jesse leaves Egypt with this awesome ox and happily heads towards
the promised land along with all Israel.

But after a few months in the desert with only manna and quail to eat,
Jesse looks hungrily towards his ox and thinks YUM. The ox that was
good for the promised land is even better for a family feast here in the
desert.

Then Moses disappears up a mountain to talk to God and receive the
Law. When he comes down (the second time) they begin to construct
a mobile Tabernacle to offer sacrifices to God. Now you can imagine
that Jesse, hearing that Moses is looking for male livestock, without
blemish for the burnt offerings, starts looking at his ox in a whole new
light: no longer insurance for the promised land, no longer food for his
family, but an offering to be given-up to God, to be totally burnt up.....

And God said to Viciente (and says to us all) “What is your ox?”

Vicente had felt the call to work in this rural area, but liked the life of the
city. Moving to Jipijapa has also meant leaving behind his children,
who live with his ex-wife, to only visit them twice a month. He has
sacrificed economic security and even given his house up to his ex-wife
because he was tempted to return “home” and abandon the harvest
fields of Jipijapa.

Jesus’ words really spoke to him: “Anyone who comes to me but
refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters –
yes, even one’s own self! - can’t be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) “No one
who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of
God” (Luke 9:62) So that he wouldn’t keep looking longingly at the
buses that pass by on the main road back to Guayaquil, Vicente has
moved further into the countryside, well away from the main road.
There too he is seeing more of the seed falling on the “good soil”, rather
than the “path” (Matthew 13:1-8).

Being a disciple of Jesus costs us. When Vicente first went to Jipijapa
he thought that he could earn a living selling natural products. But that
is another ox he has sacrificed, as the people are too poor to pay for the
products that they bought from him. God has promised to take him and
provide for his needs (see Matthew 6:25-34).

God told Vicente, like Ezekiel, to “rise up, go out into the [countryside
fields] and there I will speak to you (Ezekiel 3:22). And he too like
Ezekiel (v23), has seen the glory of the Lord. It is there in the
countryside that one gets to “tread on snakes and scorpions” without
being harmed (Luke 10:19) and not in a “stomping session” in a city
church building. Vicente has learnt to seek God’s presence continually
(Psalm 105:4) more than watch TV (there is no TV out there) and to
follow his guidance.

Please pray for Vicente and the 8 new groups at Jipijapa. It is true what
the Lord said that the harvest is plentiful but the workers so few.(Luke
10: 2) Pray that the Lord would continue to send labourers out into his
harvest. Vicente himself is an answer to that very prayer! Pray for 100
more just like him.

The same challenge comes to us all. Are you seeking God’s presence
continually? What is he asking you to do? Are there (good) things that
are getting in the way of you doing it?...

...What is your ox?


--SUBMITTED BY NIGEL WEBB
for the Guayas Mestizo Team
Guayaquil, Ecuador