Topics: Childlikeness; Church; Evangelism; Humility; Outreach; Questions
References: Matthew 18:1–4; Colossians 4:5–6; 1 Peter 3:15–16
British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge was captivated by Mother Teresa’s deep compassion for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta’s slums. But he, an unbeliever, could not accept her faith. He could not join the church, which was such a flawed institution.
Once, when Mother Teresa visited London, she and Muggeridge took a walk. “I took up my well-prepared defensive position about the church, whose deficiencies, crumbling barricades, and woeful future prospects, I expatiated upon, with little effect,” the journalist said. Later Mother Teresa sent Muggeridge a small devotional book. Here are excerpts:
I’m sure you will understand beautifully everything if you would only become a little child in God’s hands. Your longing for God is so deep, and yet he keeps himself away from you. He must be forcing himself to do so, because he loves you so much, as to give Jesus to die for you and for me. Christ is longing to be your food. Surrounded with fullness of living food, you allow yourself to starve. The personal love Christ has for you is infinite. The small difficulty you have regarding his church is finite. Overcome the finite with the infinite. Christ has created you because he wanted you. I know what you feel, terrible longing with dark emptiness, and yet he is the one in love with you.
Eight years before he died in 1990, Muggeridge finally overcame his objections and joined the Christian church.
—Kevin Miller, Wheaton, Illinois