The Man in the Middle

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV.

Since I was new to Cambodia I did not know all the cultural beliefs of the people, and that always opens the possibilities for all types of fun. One of my friends had taken me with him to the college campus where he teaches English. I told him that I wanted to take pictures of the students while he taught his class. He had obtained permission for me to take pictures around campus, so I was set.

I have a digital camera, and I have always enjoyed showing people the image on the screen display after I take their picture. One group of young men agreed to have their picture taken. When I showed the picture to them, both the men on the sides began to poke the man in the middle. I thought maybe they where amused by his expression or something. Later on I learned about a cultural belief among the Khmer (pronounced Kă-mī’).

The Khmer believe that groupings of three bring misfortune to the one in the middle. So when I had unwittingly taken a picture of the group of three students, the two on the outsides where having fun at the expense of the person in the middle by pointing out that bad luck was coming his way!

This belief made me think of the Trinity. The Son is the one in the middle of Father and Holy Spirit, and misfortune fell on Him for the sake of fallen mankind. He became a curse so that we might be healed. I couldn’t help but pray that the student in the middle would meet the other man in the middle – the one who specializes in transforming misfortune into good news!

Pray that:

The Khmer would come to know Jesus, the Man in the middle, who lived and died so that they might be saved.

God will raise up intercessors for the Khmer to stand in the gap until they become a reached people group.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.