By Pastor Dave Farmer
The Effectiveness of General Revelation examines how God reaches the people who live in the remote regions of this world? Does creation speak to them? The Word of God states clearly, concisely, and emphatically yes!
In our last article, we saw how creation acts as a witness to the presence of God in this world. In fact, creation is an impressive witness for it can reach everyone, everywhere. Some ask what about those who live in the remote regions of the world? Does creation speak to them? The Word of God states clearly, concisely, and emphatically yes! The Apostle Paul says:
Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. (Romans 1:19)
God has created human nature with mentality. Everyone has a mind and can think, and everyone with a mind will come to know God exists. There is a book I would recommend to all that addresses the effectiveness of general revelation. It is called "Eternity In Their Hearts" by Don Richardson. In it he says:
Incredible as it may seem, missionaries down through the ages have been startled by the welcome they sometimes find as they work among some of the earth's most remote peoples. People who cannot read, write, and who have had no contact with the civilized world, yet this phenomenon presents itself time and time again; there is a belief in God. They have had no education. They haven't gone to the University an obtained their degree, yet they know there is a God. 1
One of the many stories in this book is about two Canadian missionaries who went to Ethiopia in 1948. They heard the "Macedonian Call" and were led by God to present the gospel to the Gedeo people in Africa. These coffee growing people lived deep in the hill country of south-central Ethiopia. Although they were divided into different tribes, they shared a common belief. The Gedeo people possessed a belief in the existence of God, who they called Magano. There was another deity which was called (listen to this!) Sheit'an. This sounds like our English "Satan."
In contrast to Magano, this god was an evil god. The two missionaries noticed how occupied the people were with Sheit'an. One day Albert Brant asked a group of Gedeo, "How is it that you regard Magano with profound awe, yet sacrifice to Sheit'an?" He received the following reply, "We sacrifice to Sheit'an, not because we love him, but because we simply do not enjoy close enough ties with Magano to allow us to be done with Sheit'an!"
Here is the evidence that comes from our missionaries. No matter how uncultured a people are, there is a basic belief in the existence of God. Creation speaks, and it reaches everywhere.
When the two missionaries arrived in Gedeo land, they met a man, a very unusual man named Warrasa Wange. Warrasa lived in a village on the edge of town called Dilla. This man, eight years before the missionaries arrived, became so concerned about the bondage of his people to Sheit'an (he was a member of Gedeo royalty), he began praying to Magano when everyone was praying and practicing obeisance to Sheit'an. He decided to seek Magano. How? Where? He just prayed and waited, and he waited eight years. Interestingly, the witch doctors told the people that they had a vision of Magano sending two men with a message. This, of course, came with a warning from Sheit'an to keep away or else.
Warrasa waited. When AI and Glen pitched a tent outside the village, Warrasa took the center poll of his thatched roof hut, marched out of the city and drove it into the ground in front of the missionaries' hut. Later, they learned this was not a threatening gesture, but in Gedeo, the center pole represents the very life of the one in whose home it belongs. Warrasa was taking a stand. He was identifying his very own life with those missionaries. He waited eight years for Magano to reveal himself. He waited eight years to find the truth, and the truth came to him. It is interesting also to note how these men arrived at this village and not the two hundred other possibilities.
Their mission wanted to begin missionary work for the glory of God among the Gedeo people. They had hoped to gain permission from Ethiopian officials to locate their new mission at the very center of the Gedeo region, but Ethiopians friendly to the mission advised that such a request would meet certain refusal due to the current political climate. "Ask only to go as far as this town called Dilla," the advisors said with a wink. It is quite distant from the center of the tribe. Those opposed to your mission will think you couldn't possibly influence the entire tribe from such a peripheral town!
The results were profound. Three decades later Warrasa (now a radiant believer in Jesus Christ, Son of Magano ), together with Albert Brant and others, counted more than 200 churches among the Gedeo people - churches averaging more than 200 members each! With the help of Warrasa and other inhabitants of Dilla, almost the entire Gedeo tribe, has been influenced by the gospel in spite of Dilla's peripheral location! Stories such as this abound in missionary history. 2
SUMMARY
General revelation is sufficient to bring humanity to the point of God-consciousness 3. When this is reached, and there is a positive desire on the part of just one, Warrasa was just one, to have a closer relationship with God, then God calls out missionaries to go with the gospel. This is the work of God. Glen and Albert have only told us part of the story, the part they knew. The whole story is yet to be told. Here is an illustration of the work of general revelation. The continuous work of God in bringing us to Himself; so that we might believe in the Son of Magano, the Son of God.
ENDNOTES
1 Richardson, Don. Eternity In Their Hearts. Ventura: Regal Books, 1981.
2 Ibid. p. 56-58.
3 God-consciousness is the point at which a person becomes aware of the existence of a Supreme Being.