This is my final post of 2011; it is dedicated to the memory of my friend. Leonardo was the pastor of the church in Manzanillo, Cuba. Two weeks ago he was killed in a car crash; his wife Mercedes is in a critical condition. Obviously his family, children and friends across Cuba are all devastated by the loss of a fantastic man. I had the privilege of staying in his home and speaking in his church. I have to say: in all of my visits to Cuba and in all of the churches I have visited there, I have experienced the manifest presence of God more in the church with Leo and Mercedes than anywhere else on the island. He truly was a man of deep devotion and possessed a zeal for God and his house.
Men like Leo are not consumed with themselves. It's true that in Cuba the trappings of material wealth do not pose the same threat as they do elsewhere. Nevertheless, the heart of man is the same everywhere; and it's just as easy to live a self-absorbed, self-centred life there as it is in the USA or the UK. Leo was sold out to Jesus; he was consumed with passion and love for his Lord and Saviour. He was a man of the Spirit who loved to see the power of God manifest among his people in salvation, miracles, in signs and wonders. He was my kind of man.
This final post of 2011 is dedicated to Leo, because the crying need today is for more men and women just like him and Mercedes. Jesus did not come to this earth to fulfil our personal agendas and give us ministries, titles or positions. He did not come so we can live half-converted, dipping our toes into his life whenever we need a pick me up or to be rescued from our latest sinful rebellion and stupidity. Much that passes for Christianity today in the west is nothing more than sugar-coated, self-absorbed and self-indulgent religion masquerading in the guise of freedom of the Spirit. But Jesus called men and women to follow him; and that life begins for us on the cross - the place where we die.
In this season of celebration - and I intend to enjoy it very much! - don't hibernate spiritually. Rest and enjoy your family and friends; tuck into the Christmas fayre with great gusto; enjoy the presents (even if it's another pair of socks). But: remember whose you are and who you are. For Leo's sake.
Merry Christmas.
