Consider the 8th largest country in the world: Bangladesh. Poverty and abuse are the norms inside its own red-light district. Generations have lived and died without ever knowing the most basic comforts afforded to the American life.
An award-winning photographer by the name of GMB Akash was burdened by the lives of his own marginalized people, boasting over 163,000 in population. The needs of the people are so profound, most consider any assistance to be futile. Four million Bangladesh children have been forced into hard labor in factories and brick fields with almost no rebuttal by the international community. The scenes are gripping; I cannot relay the whole.
Akash decided to take “Before & After” pictures while helping one child at a time. His camera became his passport. It is noted that the “After Picture” sparked a call for change. No one realized how pitiful the conditions, until they saw what could be, after help was given. One writer said, that the “before and after pictures of Akash has prompted a call for change. We never saw ourselves in that kind of light.”
The prophet Hosea foretold of the inclusion of the Gentile when he wrote: Hosea 2:23 “And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”
Until we see what could be “after” there is no realization of the beauty of salvation. It could be concluded that the result of one is the hope for many. One life changed by the Spirit; restored and given peace and love is enough to reach the masses. Jesus proved as much in John 4.
1 Peter 2:10 “Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
Romans 9:25 “…I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.”
Our change is the catalyst of a mighty revival of people. The Born Again individual is the “After Picture” seen for the benefit of those trapped in the snare of sin.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men…”
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole