night·life
noun
1. the activity of people seeking nighttime diversion, as at a nightclub, theater, or the like.
On Friday we experienced our first night of bar ministry. Let me tell you, Bangla Road is the epitome of the “nightlife” that we all know. God opened my eyes and showed me what nightlife looks like through His eyes.
When God looks into these bars, He doesn’t just see a bunch of people partying, He sees His lost and broken children. During our worship time before ministry, I had specifically been asking God to break my heart for what breaks His and to be given His eyes to see every person on Bangla.
He answered both of those prayers loud and clear.
From the moment we set foot on Bangla, I was shocked. Not only could I see that there were many bar girls in need of REAL love, I also saw a lot of men that were walking into bars expecting to find something that would satisfy. I am excited just thinking about sharing God’s love with these women, and also these men who are so desperately trying to fill that “God shaped hole.”
It is amazing how God is breaking my heart when I see all of these hurting people and at the same time giving me an insane love for them! He truly is giving me His eyes to see and heart to love.
God showed me His version of nightLIFE when we went into the second bar of the night. My leader, Kristen, and I sat down at a bar next to two women. From the first time that I looked at Pui, one of the girls, I was looking through God’s eyes.
She had just turned 22 and this was her first night in the bar. When we started talking to her and got her to laugh, I saw the LIFE in her. I don’t even know if I have the words to describe it.
The best I can say is that amidst all the darkness and the trauma of her life, I saw the baby girl that she is to God. I saw the smile that she would wear often if she knew how much God loved her. I saw LIFE in her eyes and the potential of her life with Christ.
Nightlife, to me, is no longer “the activity of people seeking nighttime diversion, as at a nightclub, theater, or the like.” NightLIFE is God’s grace and mercy shining through the eyes of the lost and broken.
