take four.

What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

As a reader, there were many moments where I stopped to think to myself, 'How can these people think in such ways?' They seemed like the most merciless, most cruel, and most monstrous beings that I had ever heard about. Even the thought of eating human flesh sickens me, yet such sickening consumption indulges these people's bloodthirsty craving. Although all mankind is born with a sinful nature, as I read more about the Sawi people, I felt like there was an evil spirit wrapped tightly around their hearts. It was just more than the innate sinful nature of human beings and wrongly set morals. These inhumane acts were not reflecting the image of God, but of the devil. It was not just a matter of teaching an 'uncivilized' tribe that cannibalism was wrong. It was a spiritual warfare that Don Richardson was fighting.

From my experience of living in China, I have personally seen the effect of how outer forces can manipulate people and completely brainwash them. Communism. This single word speaks for itself. The people of China grow up only knowing how to obey the law forced upon them, looking up to it as if is almost a sort of deity. Communism is their religion, their faith, and their identity. It is not them who are controlling their lives, but the government. They have neither freedom of speech nor religion. It's almost like they are puppets being controlled by a puppeteer.

I have seen my parents preach the Gospel to the students they taught, and to me, it was like seeing an adult teach a newborn baby how to walk. The concept that there was a greater force out there, greater than the one that they held on to their whole lives, was incomprehensible. In the same way, it seemed impossible for Don Richardson to get across his message to the Sawi. Even I, as a reader, felt hopeless because of the callous hearts of the Sawi. Language barriers served as a hindrance, but greater than that, was the clash of two different spiritual worlds. How could you teach the concept of love and faith of Christ to people who valued treachery and cannibalism? It would have been impossible to preach the Gospel to the Sawi through the efforts of man; however, it was a work of God that the Sawi were able to open their eyes to the real gospel truth. Once Christ entered the hearts of the Sawi people, they were renewed, and it was amazing to see how they could transform into completely different beings in Christ.