Eric

This weekend my husband (still crazy to say) and I returned from our honeymoon in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Above is a photo I took of the sunset from our resort's beach. Jamaica is filled with natural beauties, like the soft beaches, blue-turqouise water, lush forest, and breath-taking mountains. But there is another side of Jamaica that they don't put on the postcards. We had been told of the poverty there, but until we saw it for ourselves we couldn't grasp the magnitude of life there. Outside the gates of our 5-star resort, men, women, and children were living in shacks without windows or even doors in some cases. Everywhere you went you were begged to buy goods they sold for their livelihoods and considering that gasoline is the American equivalent of around $6 a gallon, they have to sell a lot of trinkets if they plan to get anywhere. Their money is literally not worth the paper it's printed on (it takes about $100 Jamaican to equal an American $1). Our first taxi driver kept telling us how their economy is in ruins and how desperate the Jamaican people are. 

On Wednesday, we took a second taxi ride, this time to visit the birthplace and massoleum of Reaggae legend, Bob Marley. Andy has been a long time fan, so I thought it wouldn't be right to leave Jamaica without paying tribute to its favorite son. As we drove through town, just the three of us, our driver, Eric, began to ask us about our stay and where we were from. Upon finding out we were from Tennessee, he did what all the Jamaicans had done to us and started asking about Elvis. About 10 minutes into the drive he started preparing us for what we would find at the end of our journey. 

As a rastafarian, Bob Marley believed in smoking marijuana as a means of mediation. His name is somewhat  synonimous with "herb". Because of this connection, drugs were readily available at the tourist attraction although they are illegal in Jamaica. Eric told us that if we weren't regular partakers, then we should be prepared to be overwhelmed by the smoke. Andy told him that using drugs is against our religion. Eric got excited and then the conversation went like this:

Eric: "Are you Christian?"

Andy: "Yes."

Eric: (very excited) "Are you born again?"

Andy: "Yes."

Eric: (ecstatic) "Are you Holy Ghost filled?"

Andy: "Yes."

Eric: (about to jump out of his seat) "Well Praise God, so am I!!!"

Eric spent the next hour and a half ride telling us about the goodness of the Lord. He told us of how he had been a crack cocaine addict as a young man but God delivered him! I chuckled as every time I would start a scripture, he would finish it. I was confused because he knew so much scripture but had the zeal of a very young Christian so I asked how long he had been born again. It had been over 20 years. Suddenly, Andy and I both felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Here was Eric, a taxi driver surrounded by poverty, but still so on fire for God, proclaiming to us that "the joy of the Lord" was His strength. We couldn't help but compare him to ourselves and the other Christians in our own country who so often seem weighed down by the world (even though we have it pretty great here). 

I told Eric that in the States, you don't encounter many Christians who were as excited about their walk with Christ. He said, "For every square mile in Jamaica you will find 1 church...and 4 bars. Here, if you ask 100 people if they are Christian, they will all say 'yes', but ask if they are born again and they don't know what you are talking about." It made me wonder if I was wrong in my immediate comment that Christians aren't excited, because if we were truly Christians in the sense that we were born-again, could we help but  be excited? If we truly recognized that we have been given a second (or third or fourth) chance, would we be able to contain our joy? 

Eric reminded us that day that there is a huge difference between claiming Christ as your religion and claiming Him as your Savior. He reminded us that no matter the struggles we face, He has already been so good to us and we must never cease to praise Him.