Sunday, April 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Poverty
I thought about this in Church the other morning and wondered - “Does poverty exist so that the Body of Christ, the Church, will do something about it?”
In Matt 25:31-46 Jesus finished telling how people are separated at the judgment (the sheep and the goats) and they are separated based on what they did for the poor, the hurting, the “least of these.” Those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, a stranger, a person in prison...and the least of these. When God's people do something for these people – Jesus says, “...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
So, it made me wonder the question I posed earlier.
I then thought about my time working at the homeless shelter in Calgary. We did lots of stuff for the homeless and sometimes we shared the gospel with the people. We seemed intent on helping them with the “issues” that had them on the street – addictions, mental illness, anger, abuse, etc. We also presented ways they could deal with these issues – AA, AADAC, medication for mental disorders, Anger Management, counseling, etc. I wonder if this was a worldly way of doing Matt 25:31-46? We were giving them ways to deal with this stuff without giving them Jesus Christ, without presenting the gospel. We were having them deal with this stuff on their own, without Christ. But, sometimes these people would discover Christ through these things as they realized that they could not make it through this stuff on their own, that they needed Someone or something. Like I said, sometimes people would discover Jesus Christ through what they were doing to deal with their “issues”.
I wonder if we fulfill Matt 25 by meeting these needs...and if the opportunity arises, present the Gospel to these people? Let Jesus take care of them. Sure, we offer to help support them through what they're going through but it is always to point the person to Jesus, not some program or fad or method or...etc. I guess I mean that Jesus will take care of the person, we help meet the need. An example: Say the person has no food to eat but, for whatever reason, isn't looking for work or has not found a job. We don't work about the reason's we meet the need. We buy him some food, get him a meal...something to help. Out of this the opportunity comes to tell that person why we're doing what we're doing. What do you think? Comments, please.
Is poverty in the world so God's people will have opportunity to serve Christ, to show His love, by serving the poor? A look at Revelation when it talks about Heaven – there is no mention of poverty there. So maybe it's down here for the people of Jesus to do something about? Maybe we will "always" have the poor so the Church can do something to help them, to serve Christ by serving them? An opportunity to lend action to our faith. If so then the “War Against Poverty” is one that will be lost. It will never be eliminated because Jesus said, “The poor you will ALWAYS have with you...” It's always going to be here...and if it's always going to be here then there will always be opportunity for the Body of Christ to do something about it.
These are some things I've been "chewing" on lately. Please leave your comments because I would like to know what you think about what I've said. Am I way off base? Do I have something here? I find when I get to thinking about stuff like this I get into a tunnel vision and can't seem to see outside the box as it were. Anyway, I'm done.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Forgiveness
My mind wandered, as it always seems to do these days (wander, that is) to all the people and places and things and stuff that have wronged me in my life. How I hold on to the hurt and the pain of those times, events, places and people. How I let all of that infect me and darken how I view it all. Because they did such and such to me I have every right to feel about them the way I do.
I asked God, "Who do I need to forgive?". Before that thought even finished, one person and one organization in particular came to mind. It was like, "Lord, who do I....", and there it was. It is amazing how just their very names dredge up the hurt, the anger, the pain that these two have caused. And not just to me, but to others that I've cared about. And I sat there for a few moments feeling justified in my feelings towards them.
I then remembered that Jesus Christ was wronged (and continues to be wronged by me) more that I have ever been wronged or hurt by others. He gave his life in my place to satisfy the judgment of God that was rightfully placed on me. He forgave the ones who hurt him, caused him pain, and wronged him. He is my example of how far I need to go in order to forgive. I hear his voice from the Scriptures as he's being nailed to the cross, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." I hear Stephen, the first Christian martyr, echo the same words in Scripture as the religious leaders stone him to death for his testimony to them about Jesus Christ. In their examples my justification for holding on to my complete lack of forgiveness melts away. There is no room for anger, bitterness, hurt, etc., in the life of a Christian. How can I pray the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us(me) our trespasses, as we(I) forgive those who trespass against us." Lets throw the religious veneer off and say it like it really is in my life: "Please forgive me the multitude of sins that I wallow in daily and commit against You, while I hold onto every scrap of wrongdoing others do to me, that I may justify my anger and bitterness towards them."
I found myself finally being willing to forgive these two, and others. "I forgive them what they did to me. Please help me to not go back on this." What gain is there in holding onto this? Surely this life is temporary, and Jesus Christ will deal with all wrongs committed. Do I really need to help Him in this? Can I REALLY do the right thing here? Can I REALLY be GOD? Better to leave judgment to Him, and Him alone.
Okay, I'm done. Now, I'm going to change directions here and add this nifty little video that has absolutely nothing to do with what I've just written here. It's a new kung fu movie starring Donnie Yen playing Ip Man, the Wing Chun Grandmaster who taught Bruce Lee. Enjoy!!!