Healing of the nation

After experimenting God's healing in your own life, it is your turn to take your place in the healing of the nation.
Can the principles of personal healing be equally applied to a whole nation? Can Peru, as a nation, renounce the oppressive will of the conquerors and cast it out? Can Peru, as a nation, recover its own will and submit it under God's will? Can Peru, as a nation, break down its erroneous walls of self-defence and establish healthy frontiers? Can Peru, as a nation, forgive its offenders? Can Peru, as a nation, receive the new messages of God's love?
After all, many of the Biblical passages we used to explain these principles, refer originally to cities and whole nations.

I believe that healing of the nation starts with healing of individual people; but these, with their example and their influence, will contribute to national healing.
It is necessary for every generation, to state their own "Declaration of Independence" and to assume their own responsibility before God. We cannot live upon an independence inherited from past generations.

In this chapter, I will not go beyond some simple Biblical principles. I hope that the Lord will guide my Peruvian brothers and sisters towards the correct application of these principles.

Leave the losses behind

As we saw in the first chapters, Peru has lost a lot during its history; not only material goods, but also emotional and spiritual integrity. Therefore there are so many people who wish to go back in time, to some glorious past; or who try to find their luck in foreign countries where "everything is better". But I believe that Peru as a nation must leave behind its past, after a time of mourning their losses. It needs to "bury their deads" and look forward to a better future from the hands of God.
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19)

National identity

I do not remember who made this curious statement: "Peru does not exist." But it is obvious, after everything we examined, that an abused person has an identity problem. So it is not strange that Peru has some difficulties to find its national identity. This country has been submitted to so many foreign wills and identities that it has lost its own identity.
Here is a secret we can know only from the Bible: The identity of every nation comes from God. "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples ..." (Deut. 32:8) - It was God who created the nations, who gave them the right to exist and their national sovereignty. As every individual person has a God-given calling and purpose, so has also every nation.
Paul, in his speech at Athens, goes one step further: "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him" (Acts 17:26-27). - Historical events have the purpose of encouraging the nations to seek God and to discover their God-given purpose.
When speaking of "identity" and "purpose", we speak also of responsibility. Peru will not find its identity until it will assume its responsibility before God. While it sees itself as a passive victim in the hands of more powerful nations, it will not find its identity. But God is more powerful than the most powerful nations, and he blesses the nation which follows his ways.

In the past, Peru has been dedicated to many "lords" which are not God: to Inti (the sun-god), to Pachamama ("Mother Earth"), to Mary ... - It is time to revoke these mistaken loyalties and to dedicate Peru to its Creator God, in order to find its real destiny. Those nations who did this in the past, have been blessed.
To mention just a small example: Some of the most prosperous nations on earth have dedicated their money, and therefore their economy, to God. Every dollar note bears this message: "In God we trust". Every coin of five Swiss francs has written on it the Latin words: "Dominus providebit" (The Lord will provide). What do we find, in change, on the Peruvian money? The emblem of the pagan sun-god.

Did you already forgive Pizarro?

What a question! will you say. Pizarro did nothing to me, and he died several centuries ago. - But after having analyzed the consequences of the Conquest, it may appear less absurd saying that possibly, in an indirect way, Pizarro is still influencing the lives of Peruvians.

For the following thought I am in debt with Loren Cunningham, and he in turn with another pastor. So I will relate it how he describes it:

When hearing this, Loren Cunningham realized that he had the same bitter feelings against Mao Tse-tung, and that he needed to forgive him.

Forgiving does not mean "feeling in peace" with the other person. It is in the first place a decision, not a feeling.

Forgiving is not excusing. If we decide to forgive Hitler, or Mao, or Pizarro, this does not mean to approve what they did. It just means that we personally decide no longer "claiming" something from them.

Forgiving is first one-sided; it does not mean that the relationship with the offender is already restored. The relationship will be restored only if the offender truly repents. But forgiveness opens the door for repentance.

Forgiveness is a process; it starts with the first decision of forgiving, but lasts some time until we come to the conviction that we have really forgiven "from the heart".

We can of course not expect that our forgiveness would have any effect on a dead person. But how are the descendants of the Incas getting along with the descendants of the Conquerors today?
It calls our attention that Spain is today one of the least evangelized countries of Europe, and of the world in general. Until 1978, there was no religious freedom in Spain. According to "Operation World" (1995), there are less than 0.8% of born-again Christians, and less than half of them are Spanish nationals. Several missiologists attribute this fact to the historical inheritance of islamic dominion, the inquisition, and the conquests.
Samuel Cueva, one of the founders of the first Peruvian missionary society "AMEN", relates how they received God's calling to evangelize Spain. He encountered many unexpected difficulties when he tried to communicate this vision to the Peruvian churches:

Might the doors of repentance open for Spain, when Peruvian Christians will forgive Spain?

What applies to personal relationships, applies equally to relationships between nations. Peru and Spain are like two persons who had a conflictive past,. marked by abuse, but who can begin the process of healing God has provided for them. From the side of Spain, this process would start with the acknowledgement of past sins, and repentance, and probably the healing of the wounds Spain suffered under the muslims. From the side of Peru, it would start with the healing of national wounds, and forgiveness towards Spain.

From God's perspective, it is not necessary that the whole nation would agree to do this. God accepts individuals as representatives of their nations:

God says that he would have accepted one single man as an intercessor and representative of the nation before him!
Some years later, when Israel was captive in Babylon as a result of their wickedness, there was such an intercessor: Daniel. His prayer for his people is of much significance:

Daniel identifies completely with the sin of the nation. This is even more surprising when we remember that Daniel was the most righteous man in the whole country. But he says: "We have sinned..." In a sense, he was repenting from sins he did not commit himself. But he did not say this as a personal prayer; he was praying as a representative of his whole nation. And God heard and answered with the promise of liberating the captives soon.

Now the Lord concedes to us Christians the right of "standing in the gap" before him, representing other people and our nations: "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18) The context of this verse speaks exactly of broken relationships which need repentance and forgiveness in order to be restored.
The key is in the Christian church. When the church acknowledges and assumes her responsibility, acts in a pure and righteous way, and intercedes for her nation, then God can bring about change. But when the church allows abuse to continue within herself, all her preaching will not change anything.

Peruvian Christians need to understand first the historical inheritage of the Conquest. Then they can decide and declare forgiveness towards the conquerors and their nation. God can receive Christians making this declaration as representatives of their nation, and begin giving the freedom he promises as a consequence of forgiveness.
On the other hand, if Spanish Christians are reading this pages, I ask them to intercede like Daniel for the sins of their nation, and to consider sending a delegation to Peru in order to ask officially for forgiveness, so that Christians of both nations may gather before God in order to declare their repentance and forgiveness, representing their respective nations. Obviously, these people should be significant representatives of the Christian community of their countries, and fully conscious of what they do.

There is one more aspect to consider: Most Peruvians living today have also a larger or smaller portion of Spanish blood; so they are also descendants of the conquerors. We could say that while Peruvians do not forgive the conquerors, they are also at war with part of themselves. In consequence, there will always be certain traits of their personality (those which resemble the conquerors) they attempt to deny, to hide and to suppress. The lack of forgiveness, in this case, hinders repentance of the Peruvians themselves. They have not yet accepted that in the same way they "are" a conquered people, they "are" also the conquerors. There will be no change while the existence of this violent, oppressive and greedy side of Peruvian character is being denied. But once this reality is being accepted, and the "conqueror inside" forgiven, the door for repentance and change will open.

A new perspective on leadership

The way how change can go beyond the personal realm and reach the nation, is by a radical change in the way leadership is understood and exercised.
Healed people can change their behavior within the structures of authority (family, church, work, civil government) where they live. With God's help, they can overcome their mistrust and bitterness against authorities, and their irresponsibility which is a consequence of distrust. Instead of submitting "by force", they can understand submission as a voluntary decision they make as free men and women, in order to honor God, not out of fear of men. In this same freedom, they can also demand accountability from authorities who are not governing well, and "obey God rather than men".
Where these healed people assume leadership, they can with God's help overcome the abusive patterns they were accustomed to. They will begin to treat their subordinates with more respect and justice.
Such changes can multiply. Good leaders will have good followers. If God allows it, change can reach the whole nation.

God, the supreme example of leadership

The Bible tells the lives of many leaders, and we can learn from every one of them. But all of them were humans and had also their faults. They are examples for us insofar as they were moulded by the example of God himself. Therefore, before speaking of human leaders, we should examine God's own perfect example.
We mentioned already God's fatherhood, who combines perfectly authority with love. Now we examine some aspects of Jesus' leadership, who equally reflects God's character.

Jesus Christ: the Servant King

Jesus identified with his followers.
He stayed not at an unreachable distance from his followers. His identification starts with him, the Son of God, becoming a man like ourselves (Phil2:5-11, Hebr.2:14-18). All the difficulties his disciples might encounter in their lives, Jesus knew from his own experience. He lived and worked like one of them. (Let us not forget that until the age of thirty, Jesus did the hard work of a carpenter.)

Jesus came in order to serve.
He taught his followers that leadership must serve the well-being of followers. He did not only teach it, but he demonstrated it with his example. (Mark 10:42-45)
Servanthood is not only a means to progress, as some take it: "First I will serve, and when I will have served sufficiently and accumulated some merits, then it will be my turn to be served." - No, Jesus says that he who has more authority, is he who has to serve more.

Jesus guided with his example.
Everything he expected his followers to do, he did it himself first. Therefore he could say: "Take my yoke, and learn from me" (Matthew 10:29). One side of the yoke is carried by the disciple and the other side by the Master.

Jesus communicated with his disciples in a transparent way.
He walked and lived together with his disciples. He had nothing to hide before them. He allowed them to share his joy, his victories, but also his troubles and sadness. He was transparent before them.

Jesus fed his followers.
First, in a very literal sense: In several opportunities, Jesus took care personally for the physical alimentation of his followers. (Matthew 12:1-4, 14:15-21, 15:32-38, Luke 10:7, John 2:1-10, 21:9-13).
But he fed them also emotionally and spiritually. He showed them God's goodness and encouraged them to go forward. He talked to them about their great value for God (Matthew 6:26, 10:29-31). Incountable times he said to them: "Do not fear". The words of encouragement he gave them immediately before his death fill four whole chapters in the Gospel of John. In all these words we see that Jesus did not treat his followers as inferior beings (although he would have had reasons to do so). On the contrary, he was genuinely concerned about their well-being.

Jesus turned his followers into leaders.
Several times Jesus expressed that he gave authority to his disciples (Luke 10:19, 22:29-30, and others).
The clearest expression of this "transferral of power" we find in John 14:12: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
Jesus gave his disciples all the knowledge and training they needed in order to do "greater things". He was not afraid that the disciples would become his competitors! This is a contrast to many leaders today who try to hold their followers down, in order to secure their own position of power. So there are no new leaders being raised up, and the whole system is kept "low". Jesus, on the contrary, raised his followers up. Therefore the primitive church had many strong and capable leaders.

First, we have here the model of a good leader, especially a Christian leader. In case a future leader has no "life" example of a god leader, here is the best example in the person of Jesus.

But we must take into account that we cannot resproduce this example in our own strength. First we must discover that we, as Christians, are already under this kind of leadership which encourages and frees us. Our "boss" is not the one who oppresses us, not the teacher who teaches us only half of what we should know, not the corrupt functionary, not the religious leader who twists God's Word. No, our "boss" is Jesus, he who identifies with us, who walks by our side, who feeds us and encourages us, who raises us up and equips us in order to be leaders like him. So we need not make impossible efforts in order to "be like him", we just need to commit ourselves more consciously to his leadership.

The leader who raises up other leaders

There was a leader in the primitive church in whom we can see, more than in any other, this characteristic of raising up his followers. I am speaking of Barnabas.
We find him for the first time in Acts 4:36-37: "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet."
His outstanding quality was encouragement. This is expressed in the surname the apostles gave him. At the same we see his generosity, and his willingness of helping others.

The next time, we find Barnabas in relation to Saul (later called Paul), short after his conversion: "When he (Saul) came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple." (Acts 9:26) The Christians doubted about Saul's conversion. Only one person trusted in him and defended him before the distrusting leaders: Barnabas. "But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem ..." - Without Barnabas, Saul would not have been admitted into the church.

Several years later, we find Barnabas as a special messenger of the Jerusalem church, in order to examine the situation in Antioch. This was the place where for the first time some Greeks, non-Jews, joined the Christian church. This looked suspicious to some leaders, and during several years there was a heated discussion if non-Jews could be admitted in the church. - But Barnabas did not have such prejudices: "When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." (Acts 11:23-24). Again, we see Barnabas' quality of encouraging and raising op others. As a result, the church grew in large numbers.
After this, Barnabas brings Saul from Tarsus to Antioch in order to help him. When we study Saul/Paul's life, we find that this was thirteen to seventeen years after his conversion. During all this time, he had not exercised any recognized leadership. And again, it is due to Barnabas' intervention that he becomes a leader in the church. It was Barnabas who saw Saul's potential and helped him to realize it.
One year later, Barnabas and Saul start their first missionary journey. In Acts 13:2 and 13:7, Barnabas is named first, obviously as the leader of the team. But then, a change occurs: "Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas ..." (Acts 13:9)- Saul's name changes to Paul, and from then on, he occupies the first place: "Paul and Barnabas" (Acts 13:13.43.46.50). This happens related to a manifestation of God's power through Paul.
Although the Bible does not mention it, we can be almost sure that it was Barnabas who changed Saul's name to Paul. We find several instances in the New Testament where a leader changes the name of a follower, as Barnabas himself had received his new name from the apostles. Since the name means the identity of a person, a change of name means a change of identity, or the beginning of a new stage of life. Barnabas, recognizing Paul's apostolic calling, steps back from his leadership position and allows Paul to take the first place.
This is not a sign of weakness; on the contrary. It is a sign of Barnabas' greatness, that he recognized God's calling and potential in other people, and gave them the corresponding position. This is the reflection of Jesus' words who expected his followers to do greater works than he himself.

After many adventures, we see Paul and Barnabas getting ready for a second journey. There arises a problem: "Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord ..." (Acts 15:37-40)
The Bible does not judge about who was right. Both of them, Paul and Barnabas, had valid reasons for their respective opinion. Although they left in disagreement, it is important to see that neither of them disqualified his opponent. They came to a solution which made it possible for both to continue their missionary work.
And we see here again Barnabas' special quality of "raising up" other leaders, in this case John Mark. In spite of his failure during the first journey, Barnabas is willing to give him a second opportunity and so to save his ministry. The later history shows that Barnabas was not mistaken: this same John Mark is known to be the author of Mark's Gospel. Also Paul recognized at the end of his life Mark's usefulness: "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry." (2 Tim. 4:11)

Many leaders have got into a position of authority thanks to a "Barnabas" who encouraged them and gave them an opportunity. Peru could have many capable leaders if there were more "Barnabas"'s who would raise up new leaders, instead of putting them down.

Who is the real leader?

King Ahab was probably the most evil and most idolatrous of all kings of Israel. But who pushed him towards these attitudes was his wife Jezebel. The real leader was not the king, but his wife.

Another example is king Joash (2 Chronicles 22 to 24). He lived in tumultuous times. Joash was still a baby when his father Ahaziah died. Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, usurped the throne and killed Ahaziah's whole family. Only Joash was saved because the priest Jehoiada and his wife hid him in the temple.
When Joash was seven years old, Jehoiada put himself in front of a revolution in order to overthrow Athaliah and proclaim Joash as the new king. Of course Joash was not sufficiently mature to govern a nation at the age of seven, so he governed according to Jehoiada's advice. Although Joash was the king, Jehoiada was the one who governed in reality.
In this case, Jehoiada's influence was a good one. He made the people return to God in obedience (2 Chron.23:16). Joash is initially evaluated in a very positive way: "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD..." (2 Chron.24:2).
However, we notice that from the beginning a dysfunctional pattern was introduced in this form of government. If the man who appears to be in charge is not really in charge, the leadership lives a lie. While Joash was still a child, we can understand his dependence on the priest. But this dependence obviously continued in his adult age. The next verse reads: "Jehoiada chose two wives for him ..." - Although it was usual in those times that parents chose wives for their sons, this did not apply to kings. The kings of Israel normally chose their wives themselves. But Joash, being king, was not free to make this important decision for himself. (And it is an open question why the priest chose two wives for him.)
The second half of verse 2, which we left out above, is also significant: "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, all the years of Jehoiada the priest." It does not say "all the years of his life". What happened when Jehoiada was no longer there? -"After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them." (2 Chron. 24:17) What a paradoxical statement! Who is obeying whom? Joash was not able to get rid of the pattern of dependence Jehoiada had introduced in his life. Now he listens and obeys those he should be governing. What happens in consequence of the officials' advice? - "They abandoned the temple of the LORD ... and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God's anger came upon Judah and Jerusalem." (v.18)
Not much later, Joash is led to such a cruel act of abuse that God can not tolerate it: When the prophet Zechariah (Jehoiada's son) speaks against his idolatry, the king has him stoned to death. The year after that, Joash's life finds a shameful end.
Joash terminated this way because he made himself dependent on men, not on God. Superficially, this seemed good while he had a good counsellor; but his problems came to the light as soon as this good counsellor was no longer there.

We see a very different example in another king who also began his government at a very early age: Josiah.
"Josiah was eight years old when he became king ... He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. - In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images." (2 Chron. 34:1-3)
The great difference between Joash and Josiah is found in the words: "he began to seek God". Joash never sought God; he just let himself be guided by the advice of those around him. His righteousness was only superficial. Josiah, on the other hand, was righteous because of his integrity and his personal relationship with God. Therefore, he had real authority.
Later on, when the Book of the Law was found in the temple, king Josiah submitted fully to the Law of God. He was not so "independent" that he rejected advice; but he made sure that the advice he received was from God. In this opportunity, he asked the priests and his officials: "Go and inquire of the Lord for me" (2 Chron. 34:21).

Who is a real leader? - A real leader is someone who has clear principles and follows them consequently, so he will resist pressure from people who want to lead him astray.
If Peruvian Christians want to achieve a change in the leadership structures of the country, they should not in the first place strive for a position of power. They should first affirm their principles, committing themselves firmly to Biblical principles about leadership and authority.

Decision making in the New Testament Church

Jesus himself did not give us many hints about structures of government in the church; but there is a surprising promise in Matthew 18:19-20: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
What does "agree about anything" mean? Does it mean that God will give us anything we ask for, according to our own desires? - Not at all. The "two or three" are together in the name of the Lord; this means, seeking his will. (1 John 5:14 also specifies that we should ask "according to his will".) In any case, there must be "two or three" (or more), not one single person. The way they agree with each other is by seeking God's will. When all involved people are really in contact with God, then they will agree because they all hear the same answer from God. In other words: Decisions are taken by consensus, and this consensus is achieved not as an "average value" of different human opinions, but as the result of sincere seeking of God's will.

We find an illustration and practical application of this principle in Acts 15. The leaders of the church had to resolve a problem which could have divided the church forever: Must converted pagans be circumcised and submitted to the Jewish Law, in order to be Christians?
"The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ..." (v.6) - Obviously the opinions were divided, and there was "much discussion". It is important to discuss the different opinions openly.
The Biblical text does not relate the whole discussion; it mentions only the statements of Peter, Barnabas, Paul, and James. These must have been the most significant contributions which put an end to the discussion and led to an agreement. These four expressed the opinion that God's grace is manifested in the converted pagans, without having to become Jews. So "the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch ...With them they sent the following letter: ..." (v.22-23) If they decided "with the whole church", then this includes also those who initially had held another opinion. Obviously they changed their opinion under the influence of the Holy Spirit who was present in the meeting, since the letter states: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ..." (v.28) - The whole church achieved a consensus because they were willing to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to submit to him.
In conclusion: The church is neither a democracy nor a dictatorship. There was no voting, no decision by the majority. Neither was there a decision imposed by the most powerful leaders. There was an open discussion and a sincere seeking of God's will. The statements of Peter, Barnabas, Paul and James had greater weight; but not for a "position of power", but because their spiritual maturity and close relationship to the Lord were obvious to everyone present. At the end there was a consensus in harmony.

The New Testament does not impose upon us any law regarding the "government structure" of the church; there are several possible structures. The church in Antioch was led by "prophets and teachers" (Acts 13:1). In Philippi, there are "bishops (overseers) and deacons" (Phil.1:1), as well as in 1 Tim.3. The church in Ephesus was led by "elders" (Acts 20:17). The Epistle to the Hebrews mentions "shepherds" (Hebr.13:7). But there is a common element in all these passages: Church leadership is plural. No church in the New Testament was led by one single person. According to Jesus' principle, the leadership of a church must consist in "two or three" (or more) who seek together God's will.
(See Note about the terms "elder", "pastor/shepherd" and "bishop".)

A new vision of Peru

I see the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, stretching out his arms towards the wounded sheep of Peru. Some still distrust, but many approach him now without fear of being touched by him. He lifts them up, carries them in his arms, comforts them, caresses them, and wipes off their tears. The sheep need to stay a long time in the shepherd's arms until their distrust disappears. But then they get to the point where they dare to show him what they never showed anybody: the deepest wounds of their hearts. Nobody else needs to see them; it is sufficient that the Good Shepherd sees them. Their distrust towards the other sheep is even much greater than their distrust towards the Good Shepherd.
Then the Good Shepherd puts his healing hands over the wound. The sheep sighs and feels a real relief - for the first time in a lifetime. But there is also pus coming out of the wound - all the anger and bitterness of the past years. This is not pleasant, and it hurts; but it is necessary. The Good Shepherd, with much care and tenderness, squeezes the wound until all the pus has come out, and cleanses it with the handkerchief of forgiveness. Then he wraps up the wound with a pure bandage to protect it until it is completely healed. All the time, the sheep stays in the arms of the shepherd and gets his special attention. It does no longer feel ashamed when crying about the hurting memories of the past. This is necessary so all the pain of the past can come out. But the sheep remembers also the moments when it had hurt other sheep - imposing his own will, benefitting himself injustly, repaying evil for evil. "Forgive me", says the sheep to the shepherd.
Finally, the sheep feels no more pain. "Now walk!", says the shepherd. "You are healed. You are free. As the Father sent me, I send you. I will be always with you and will never abandon you." And the sheep returns to the other sheep. But now, it sees them with other eyes. Through the thick wool of the other sheep, it can discern hidden wounds. In their faces, although they seem happy and secure of themselves, it can see traces of pain and suffering. It begins to feel a deep compassion for the other sheep. Never would it think of taking advantage of what it now knows about them; even less of hurting them again as before. On the contrary, it desires their healing as itself had been healed.
So it talks to them: "Come to the Good Shepherd. He will heal you. He healed me, and it is wonderful!" - The other sheep do not yet believe. Some of them make an effort to hide their wounds better and to appear healthy. But some of them are walking towards the shepherd. He takes them into his arms and heals them.
There are more and more healed sheep. There is nothing special to see about them, but inside they are very different. They know who they belong to, and they know the purpose of their lives. They are transparent and sincere; they do not have anything to hide. They are no longer afraid of the stronger sheep, and are no longer deceived by the false shepherds who had entered in the midst of the flock. They need no longer be driven and pushed forward, because they are convinced to follow the Good Shepherd.
The strongest sheep have the most difficult time to approach the Good Shepherd. They could loose their image when they would acknowledge that they have a weakness, a need. They want to maintain their appearance as important sheep, and they fear loosing the respect of the other sheep who still admire them. But the time will come when they also will discover and treat their wounds before the Good Shepherd.

I see Peru sitting in a dark prison. This prison is built from dark memories of the past. Shadows of cruel guardians prevent every attempt of getting out.
But a beam of light enters this prison: God's revelation! This light brings a sight of the world of freedom: Yes, freedom exists. Truth exists. True love exists. The righteous God exists.
Seeing things in this light, Peru realizes that this prison is not real. It consists only of memories of past things, which do no longer exist. They are like images of a nightmare which follow you even after having woken up, but they are not real.
So Peru takes a step towards the outside. There is no wall! This dark wall was only a hallucination. - One step more towards the outside, to God's light. The cruel guardians do not exist either. Their shadows were nothing more than that: shadows. Nobody hinders the step to freedom. Green pastures are spread out under a blue sky.
One step more. Now, in the light, Peru can see clearly the great wealth God has given it: Gold. Silver. Minerals. Plantations. Fish. And millions of people with intelligence, creativity and strength to work. - Peru is amazed: "Am I not under obligation to give all this to my oppressors?" - No. The dark prison stays behind and is already vanishing in the brightness of the light.
Peru says, for the first time with real conviction: "WE ARE FREE!" (Note: these are the first words of Peru's national anthem.)
"Now, let's go to work, but really."

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(Note): Doing a careful study, we find that in the New Testament the three terms "bishop" (overseer), "elder", and "pastor" (shepherd), when referring to a church leader, are synonyms. All three terms refer to the same kind of leaders; there are no "pastors" above "elders", nor "bishops" above "pastors". The references to prove it are the following:
Titus 1:5-7: Paul begins by saying: "For this cause I left you in Crete, that thou ... ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed you: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, ..." Then he goes on immediately: "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God ..." The word "For" unites this statement with the preceding one, so it is clear that the apostle is talking about the same kind of people. "Elder" and "bishop" are synonyms. (Some modern translations obfuscate the grammatical structure of these verses, but from the Greek it is clear that this is the correct translation.)
1 Peter 5:1-4: Peter writes "to the elders among you" (verse 1): "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care ... " (v.2). "And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away" (v.4). Here we see that "elder" ans "shepherd" (pastor) are synonyms.
Acts 20:17 y 28: Paul bids farewell to the elders of the church in Ephesus (verse 17). He says to them the following: "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops (overseers). Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." (v.28) - Here we find all three terms, "elders", "bishops" and "shepherds" (pastors), referring to the same group of leaders.
Some commentators call Timothy and Titus "pastors" (above the "elders" they had to appoint). But nowhere is the term "pastor" (shepherd) applied to them. The context suggests rather that they, as Paul's companions, shared and continued his regional, not local, ministry. ("in every city", Titus 1:5). They were themselves not part of the leadership of the local churches they had to supervise, but belonged to another level of leadership which goes beyond local churches.
In Eph. 4:11, "pastors" appear among the five "ministries". In this context, the word "pastor" (shepherd) does not refer to a determined position in the church "hierachy", but to the specific gift and contribution of this ministry for the building up of the church. Each of these five ministries has a different gift to contribute to the "building up of the body of Christ", but this by itself does not yet say anything about their leadership position. A person with the gift or ministry of "shepherding" can exercise this ministry as well in the position of a deacon, of an elder/pastor, or of a regional ministry (although this last one is an exception; the ministry of pastoring is normally a local ministry).
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THE WOUNDED SHEEP OF PERU

Chapter 9: Steps towards the healing of the nation

Steps towards the healing of the nation

Leave the losses behind

National identity

Did you already forgive Pizarro?

A new perspective on leadership

God, the supreme example of leadership

Jesus Christ: the Servant King

The leader who raises up other leaders

Who is the real leader?

Decision making in the New Testament Church

A new vision of Peru