The heart of Arlis

Arlis seems to have come out of one of the books of the Bible. He still has authority in his voice and the green overflows with the hope that lingers in his eyes, as if making fun of the fatigue of so many years of seeing the world. Her little feet carry the blessing of 82 years, most of them serving the Lord as a missionary and evangelist. When we meet sisters like Arlis personally, we understand well what God's grace means. Faith is renewed and the soul is edified. The body of Christ is so amazing!

Arlis still travels hundreds of miles to preach the gospel. You do not need the help of the Bible to speak to the lost. He says that he has read it so many times that the Spirit has revealed to him what makes Christ an irresistible gift for those who do not believe, and accept him. I recently watched her give testimony of her life and an hour later, I saw a broken lost crying out for her salvation through her anointed preaching of the Spirit of God. His 82 years do not contain it. The sweet way of telling people that one of her children and her husband are already in heaven and that she longs for the day of her reunion with them, leaves an indelible mark on the heart.

When I think of Arlis, it is inevitable that I think of the Church of Christ, its functions and its mission. So many people sitting in the bubble of his "holy temple." Glory Sundays and Monday already begins the challenge of “looking” Christian, or of being so in certain ways, less to approach those who walk like sheep without a shepherd, injured, mistreated as a result of their own mistakes, slaves of their passions. There is so much harvest and so few workers! (Mt 9.37).

The world collapses right under our noses with a liberalism tailored to this age of hedonistic technologies and empires. But Arlis is not one of those who claim to have a passion for the lost and remain as nailed in the courts of the Lord watching those who march on the adventure of liberating desperate hearts. She does it from the height of old age in Christ, from the glory of the gray hair that the Lord has painted on her small and majestic head, like her own old age. His testimony is like the trumpets that brought down the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6.2). Credible, imitable, powerful.

Where are the Elijahs of Mount Carmel or the Daniel of the fiery furnace today? When are we going to ask for rain so that God will bless this spiritual dryness that moves so few men and women of faith to free the captives? If we do not enter the furnace of Daniel, who represents this lost world, we will never experience the company and presence of God in our Christian life to carry out the mission entrusted (Matthew 28).

I want to be like Christ, but Arlis has been a new inspiration to me these days. I thank God for the Arlis of God's people who do not shrink because of their years, and God renews their strength to bring the light of truth without fear of the intensity with which the furnace has been heated. His inspiration led me to Isaiah: “… but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly like eagles: they will run and not tire, they will walk and they will not tire ”. (Isaiah 40.31)

God bless you!