Approximately 240,000,000 people in Indonesia and the population of Jakarta is estimated to be between 9 and 14 million. Not only is the population of Jakarta mindblowing, but the fact that the estimate could vary by up to 5 million is absolutely staggering. The reason for this is that the governement would be unable to accurately record the numbers due to the way society works over here. It would be so easy to lose oneself in the masses of people. It seems each individual is so undervalued. I am currently sitting in a coffee shop in Bandung so I can access the internet. I stand out like a neon light and speak a language that most wouldn't understand. The streets are extremely busy and around every corner there is another street or laneway or alley that is full of people and seems to go on forever. People here seem to look after their own patch (which may be only a few square feet) but no one seems to see the big picture. It seems from an outsiders perspective that no one cares. No one here knows me or probably cares! That's the reality. I listened to a lady today that spoke about her work here and how a young girl who had given her life to Jesus told her that, for the first time, she knew what it meant to be loved. THERE'S THE ANSWER! It doesn't matter how many people, or in what context I find myself, knowing that Jesus loves me gives me more than enough love to cope with any situation. Knowing that amongst the masses of people around me, Jesus knows me and cares for me. In fact, God knows every single person here and wants a relationship with them through His son. Now that is enough for any person! For all those people on the streets, God loves them! How awesome is that!

A I write this I am sitting in a very nice coffee shop in a very expensive shopping centre. If you know me that may sound like I am way out of my league and you would be right, except I am sitting in the heart of Jakarta. My dollar goes a lot further and the prices become much more reasonable. I look out the 4th storey window of the shopping centre and the surrounding buildings and streets are immaculate and look expensive. I can see the back of one of these buildings and I can make out a lonely figure, sleeping under the shade of the building on the concrete. He captures my thoughts as he doesn't belong in this scene. If I go back to this morning to my hotel room and walk out the door, this would be a normal sight. Last night as we returned by foot from a days outing we passed thousands of people living in what we would call extreme poverty. People begging using their children, men wheeling trollies with contents that can only be described as garbage. But we are told that there is far worse in Jakarta. I'm trying to understand all this and I am struggling. I find myself wanting to see more of the poverty side of Jakarta. I think it is so that I can get it to sink into my brain. This is not all here for me to look at while I am on holidays........this is their existence! So what is God telling me? There are so many cliche passages I could use but it is hard for them to impact me. What does Matthew 25:40 mean in this context? Ephesians 3: 14-21 comes to mind. When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. I must rely totally on God. It is the spiritual needs of these people that is more important than their physical needs. It is hard to look past the physical needs! I will fall to my knees and pray. Pray that God will give show me what He requires of me and He will help me understand and accept the greatest gift He has...........undeserved grace through Jesus Christ.

So what about same sex marriage? How should we respond to the popular ideology surrounding same sex marriage? We certainly need to have an opinion on such a matter. But it ought to be an opinion that is shaped, not as a result of extreme fundamentalism, popular culture or red-necked rhetoric, but by a clear understanding of the scriptures. So what does God’s Word say about this practice? How should we respond as Jesus people to this hot potato that is currently being debated?