"I Absolutely Could Not Wait"

Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries to the Philippines, were kidnapped along with several others by Muslim extremists on May 27, 2001 and held for ransom.  This is a fairly common occurrence in that part of the world and it usually ends with the ransom being paid and the hostages being released in a relatively short time.  This group of detainees expected the same treatment.  But due to a number of extenuating circumstances, the Burnhams ended up being held captive for just over a year.  In The Presence Of My Enemies is Gracia Burnham’s eyewitness account of the extreme struggle the hostages faced during their captivity.  Martin Burnham was eventually killed during a gunbattle with Philippine government forces on June 7, 2002.  Gracia Burnham was wounded but rescued and airlifted to safety.

The last part of the book records Mrs. Burnham’s thoughts after finally being reunited with her children and how the year as a hostage caused her to view some things differently.  I was particularly struck by one paragraph: “The next day was Sunday -- an ordinary Sunday to millions of other people, but not to me.  This was my first chance in more than a year to go to church.  I absolutely could not wait.  So many Sundays in the jungle I had sat on the ground thinking of the high privilege of gathering with other believers to worship God.  To sit in a pew (actually, in my case, they parked my wheelchair in the center aisle), to sing again, to pray, to listen to the Word of God -- it was exquisite” (In The Presence Of My Enemies, Gracia Burnham and Dean Merrill, 2010, Kindle edition)

I know it is fashionable today for even some believers to bash “the church.”  The practice of regularly assembling with fellow believers is chided as being out-dated, irrelevant, or unimportant.  Maybe we are taking too much for granted.  Perhaps if we were suddenly deprived of the privilege of assembling, it would mean more to us.  But, then again, maybe not.  What do you think?

God loves you!

Mike