In chapter 18, the Motilones begin to show interest Jesus because of Bobby’s song. After the tiger tells the chief that the spirits will visit them that night, the tribe members frantically go inside of the communal home and begin to sing incantations in order to ward of the evil spirits that they are sure are coming to kill one or more of their people. In all the commotion, Bruce worries that Bobby may have succumbed to his previous Motilone traditions of superstition, but when he enters the home, Bruce sees that Bobby is acting much differently than all the other Motilone men. Bobby is smiling with his eyes wide open and is singing a cheerful song about how Jesus had become his “language” – or life, so he had no reason to worry that he would be killed. Bruce joined Bobby in his song about Jesus and they sang until the night ended. And when dusk had broken, everyone in the home was alive. It was the first time that anyone could remember that the spirits had visited the home and not taken the life of at least one Motilone.
To me, the most notable attribute of God within this event is faithfulness. God being faithful means that he does not break his covenants and he does not mistakenly foretell anything. Bobby made a covenant with God the day that he gave his life to Christ. He promised to walk in Jesus’ path in exchange for eternal safety in the presence of God. Because Bobby was singing a song of praise that night in the Motilone home, God was right there beside him. He filled the home and kept the entire Motilone people safe within Himself, because He had one servant who was calling to Him. That is how this event demonstrates God’s faithfulness.
For this passage, I think that 2 Thessalonians 3:3 highlights the event relatively clearly. It says “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” It explains simply that no matter what, God will keep his promise to protect you under all circumstances if you have faith. This reminds me of the event because in the case of the book, the evil one can be represented as the evil spirits that are known to take lives of the Motilones.
From this event, I learned more about God’s sovereignty as well as his faithfulness. Before reading this, I didn’t really understand the difference between having faith and being faithful. But now I realize that to have faith is to believe in something and to be faithful is to live up to someone’s belief or expectation of you. I see that God can do as He pleases with those who walk on His path, because His followers have faith. And I see that God’s followers trust in God to live up to their expectations, to be faithful towards them. Another thing I realized after reading this section is just how merciful God can be. Though all the other Motilones were going against God’s will and chanting to the spirits, Bobby was being christianly. Because just one of the Motilones had changed and was walking on the path of the Lord, God had compassion and was merciful towards all of the other Motilones, and ultimately, saved them.
In chapter 21, Gloria and her brother become the first foreigners besides Bruce to survive being in the Motilone territory. When Bruce makes a journey to Tibu to acquire medicine for the Motilones, he encounters a lieutenant in the Columbian army and his sister named Gloria. The two were both very interested in the jungle and wanted to see for themselves what jungle life was like. Though it took some convincing on their part and was agreed to solely upon the term of them being self-sufficient, Bruce hesitantly agreed to take the brother and sister into the jungle to meet the Motilones. To Bruce’s surprise, the pair fit right into the crowd of Motilones. Gloria becomes the first woman ever to fish with the tribe, and unexpectedly catches a large fish on her first day of being in the jungle. Gloria turned out to be an important part of the story after her introduction, even though she is not reoccurring.
The one attribute that stood out to me the most when I was reading this section of the book was God’s justness. Bruce believed that he was extraordinary because he was the only person to survive living amongst the Motilones. He thought that he was selected specially by God as the only man that could do the job of showing the Motilones the way of the Lord. He was protective of his position in the tribe, but God showed him that he wasn’t as special as he thought. He brought Bruce off of his high horse and showed him that it was okay to let other people experience the ways of the jungle, because they too, were people of God, and all people stand equal in the eyes of the Lord.
I think that Romans 15:7 suits the passage almost perfectly. The scripture reads “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” It reminds me of how Bruce was at first not at all open to the idea of taking urban people into the jungle with him, but as he thought more about it, he agreed to (not warmly mind you) bring Gloria and her brother along. The scripture tells us that we should not be judgmental, because God has never been that way, nor will he ever be. It says that we should be accepting of one another just as God is accepting of us.
This event showed me that discrimination should be pushed out of my mind, even my subconscious. It helped me learn that I should not judge based on my initial impression of them. Someone may be the complete opposite of what I think they are like, and I will never truly learn who they are if I don’t open my mind and my arms to their entirety, without bias. The bible verse that I used with this event taught me that I should welcome everyone into my church, home or anywhere I am present, no matter how different they are from me, because they too, no matter what or who they are, were created in the image of God.
