Consumed by an Intense Love, Myo Zaw Visits 100 Communities in 3 Years Reports Gospel for Asia

Love. That four-letter word that evokes varying degrees of feelings and meaning for every person. People talk about it, write about it, search for it and desire it. St. John the Apostle he experienced firsthand the purest form of love this world has ever known: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

In 1 John 4:7b–10, he wrote, “God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

This Apostle saw real love lived out. He saw the compassion that motivated Jesus Christ to bring new life to those around Him. It was love that compelled Him, and it’s His love that compels us.

The strongest motivator for Gospel for Asia-supported workers to do what they do is love. Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan recently talked about this in one of his blog posts. He mentioned how a national worker was once told by his enemies that he would be torn in half if he ever visited their village again. But the missionary returned because he loved them and had good news to share with them! For him, perfect love casted out fear and drove him to risk his own life for the sake of others—much like his Lord.

This national worker is one of many who are willing to put everything on line for the sake of Christ because they love.

Gospel for Asia-supported workers are compelled by Christ’s love to serve others well.

The story below is about another national missionary named Myo Zaw who exemplifies the heart of our brothers and sisters in Asia well.

Love on Fire

A fire burned inside Myo Zaw. It was lit the day the Lord redeemed him, and it grew hotter and more intense every single day. He was like the prophet Jeremiah, unable to keep the love of Christ hidden within himself. If he tried, he felt restless, he felt sick.

Weary of holding it in, Myo Zaw shouted from the roadsides and in market places, “Christ [redeemed] me, and He will [redeem] you also!”

People thought he had gone mad. Those in his community already knew him as a hot-blooded drunkard who fought with people and beat his wife and children, and now he proved his insanity.

“But I knew I was not mad,” Myo Zaw says. “The love of God just would not simply keep [quiet] in my heart. I wanted to pour it out and share it.”


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