Visual education
By Mathias Weststrate (General Manager)
Through learning the language, I discovered that in South African culture, people describe things instead of naming them. This is ingrained in their lives. This led me to the insight to convey certain key passages from God's Word by using visual aids. In the West, we use many words and arguments, but in South Africa, I learned the power and value of images.
I prefer to use examples from nature. For example, I explained that life is like a flower (Isaiah 40:7). I had everyone bring a small flower. That plucked flower quickly wilted. Some had placed it in a small vase with water, but after a few days, nothing was left of that either. This is how I explained the image of man: born to die and dependent on his Creator in everything. Man seems so powerful, yet he is dependent, fragile, and vulnerable in every way. Have we yet come to know this Creator? Or is He as the unknown God to us?
Balloon
Our life is fleeting (Gen. 3:19), but we always seek something to sustain us. Humans feed on the joys of the world or religion. So I asked if the people would bring an empty balloon. During the meetings, I blew it up and asked what the purpose of a balloon is. Well, it is used for celebrations. And if the balloon pops, what then? Yes, then there is nothing left of it. So I explained that we take nothing with us when we leave this life. We must leave everything behind, and we will certainly have to meet God. The only question is, will we meet Him by grace in this life, or after this life to our condemnation? Therefore, repent, O man!
Hammer and stone
Man has a heart of stone (Ezek. 36:26). This heart must be broken. But how? For this lesson, some had brought a hammer and a stone upon request. Together we crushed the stones. Who crushed the stone? The hammer. And who controlled the hammer? The owner. Can the stone then crush itself? No, right? Thus, we explained that the Lord is and remains the First and the Last. And only He, through grace, can grant that new life that everyone needs. Do we know what it is to be crushed, but also to have a heartfelt Godly sorrow?
Because of sin, man and God can no longer be united (Isaiah 59:2), unless the Spirit, as the moving Cause, shows us who we are, grants grace, and leads us on the Way of Life. I had brought two large magnets and asked if they could press them together. This was impossible. After I turned one of the large magnets over, it was possible. The picture was clear: we must be turned over by and through grace if reconciliation with God is to be possible, and that only through, in, and because of His Son.
Backpack
When the Lord begins to work in your life, sin will, for the first time, become a reality and a burden (Psalm 51:4). I brought a backpack, and with every example of sin that I gave, I put a stone in it. Eventually, the stones no longer fit in the bag, and the bag wouldn't close anymore. Thus I explained that the burden of sin becomes unbearable and you can no longer move forward or backward; your knees give way because of this burden. You learn that you must truly and righteously perish because of your sins. I asked, “Who is without sin?” No one raised their hand. I asked, ‘Who has come to view their sins as a burden, because they have learned that we come short of the glory of God?’ A few nodded hesitantly, most did not.
The Lord is truly angry because of our sins (Heb. 12:29). I asked the people to look into the sun. Some tried, but most couldn't do it for long. I explained that when the Lord shows us who we are and we gain knowledge of His holiness and righteousness, but also of His terrible wrath, our entire self-righteous existence is inevitably scorched, and we become debtors before God. The Lord is then a consuming fire before Whom no one can stand. But oh, wonder! There is a way of salvation for elect and lost sinners. Has the Lord awakened a desire for that righteousness which is not of ourselves?
These images speak volumes and leave nothing to the imagination! Do you have any experiental knowledge of this?
