Shoes off Please

It is practically a universal truism in Eastern cultures that you take off your shoes before you enter a home. This is true even when there is a dirt floor in the home you are entering. This picture was taken outside an Islamic center. A group of children had gathered to learn to read Arabic, which is an important part of their worship.

The reason you remove your shoes is to keep from tracking in dirt from outside. In many cases roads are still gravel and dirt and become mud bogs when it rains, which is often in the tropics. This custom does help reduce the amount of dirt that a person carries into the house, but it does not remove the problem. Floors are normally mopped every day in Sumatran homes, because dirt still gets in quickly.

This custom is much like the efforts of many to keep the dirt of sin out of the home of their hearts. No matter how hard people try to be holy and righteous the dirt of sin still stains everything they do. God knows the helpless state of humankind, which is why He sent His Son to pay the debt and completely clean up the mess of sin in the lives of people who will receive His gift by faith. Many Sumatrans still have not heard that God did this for them, so they are still trying to clean themselves up. The frustration of this hopeless effort weighs heavy on many hearts on Sumatra.

Pray for Sumatrans to hear a clear, culturally sensitive explanation of the Gospel.

Pray for Sumatrans to understand that they cannot clean themselves up. The dirt of sin is too pervasive.

Pray for Holy Spirit conviction that the Gospel is true that is greater than the pull of tradition, community approval, and religion.