Sometimes it just takes a good sermon to smack you on the head and help you get a little clarity. That's exactly what happened to us yesterday. One of our pastors has been doing a series called REACH, examining evangelism up close & personal. Last week was excellent, as he talked about how we're called by Christ to be fishers of men, not keepers of the aquarium. This week was humbling, heavy, and convicting, as he talked about the reasons we don't take the great commission seriously, namely, preoccupation with the trivial, greed, prejudice and ethnocentrism, and a general unwillingness to care about people who are different than we are.
By the end honey and I were both in tears. It was the kind of sermon that you remember years down the road, and see the actual way your life changed because of what you heard.
Here are a few things to think about: all of us who live here in the US live an incredibly rich life, compared with the rest of the planet, thanks to the fact that we know where our next meal is coming from and have a safe place to sleep. Compassion International sites that "almost 6.5 million children under 5 die every year from hunger-related diseases. In fact, hunger-related illnesses kill 12 children every minute of every day." WHAT THE HECK? How is this happening, and all we hear on the news is Anna Nicole Smith & Britney Spears? Don't get me wrong. I feel for Anna Nicole, and her dear little girl, and I hope that Britney can get her act together... But a little awareness could make such a difference. Compassion cites that it would take $19 billion a year to meet the "basic nutritional needs of the world's poorest children," and yet the world spends $18 billion every year on MAKE-UP. So where's God's heart here? Starving kids, or make-up? Hmmm....
I'm not saying give up make-up for the starving kids, or AIDS orphans, or whatever injustice/need that you see. I'm just saying, like my pastor said Sunday, that we have to start somewhere. He cited the old joke, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time..." That means I have to figure out where I'm going to take my first bite. Me. My family. My church. We're called to it. God has a heart for the world, and we, as His children, have to reflect His heart, by defending the fatherless & the widow, by helping the poor, and by making disciples of all nations.
I know this is heavy stuff. I haven't been able to get it out of my head yet, and that's good. There's plenty of trivial junk that could take its place in my brain pretty quickly, but I don't want to let that happen. This is too important. Father, I want my heart to reflect your heart for the world. I know that I get caught up all too often in the mundane, in the ridiculous things that pull my attention away from reflecting Your glory to a broken world. So help me to grow up to look like Jesus, in all things. Help me to start today, with my neighbors, and to not be ashamed of the glorious gospel of your Son. And thank you for the gift of the Spirit, for not leaving us all to do this on our own.
9 months ago
12 comments:
That's so right, Shannon. I've been thinking a lot about this lately. Perspective...priorities.
Living in America, we have the means to make ourselves beautiful, then obsess about not losing our beauty. We have opportunity to make ourselves rich, then we make it our ambition to stay that way. We can be very comfortable...and then retreat from that which threatens our comfort (including people who need our sacrifice of at least sharing the gospel.) It's like our luxuries have dictated what we worship, what we guard as idols. (Or maybe the idols of our hearts dictate what we pursue...)
Sometimes it's so obvious to me that it's a curse to be a part--an active part, no doubt--of this culture. (I think, too, we who may be wealthy, attractive, able-bodied, mentally capable, etc. are not necessarily among the most "fortunate" of this world...I mean, we should be among the pitied!!) Because I wonder if all this were stripped from us, if we'd have clearer perspective on what is valuable. I mean, that it would be easier to see what really matters, more natural to worship He who is worthy. And wouldn't we be happier, then? I kind of envy the missionaries who live and serve in dire, desperate situations...at least they have some real PERSPECTIVE (i imagine) on a consistent basis...help us Lord to not coast this world away til we no longer have the opportunity to do your work in this life...
I keep reading this post over & over again. It's a lot to chew on...very convicting.
It is a lot to chew on, Lin. Our pastor kept calling it heavy... I can't describe it any better. Lauren, I love your thoughts about beauty & comfort... "Luxuries have dictated what we worship." Now there's a statement.
Shannon,
I totally agree with you...thanks for sharing these important truths with us. Actually, one of the reasons we feel we should move back to Shreveport is that we have felt very convicted about caring for the orphans and the widows and we knew that we needed to start with those in our own family. On a funny note, Caleb was looking at the pic you have on the post and he said, "what?, there's not a broccoli on the earth!" Kids say the darndest things :)
Love what Caleb said! I kinda thought that myself when they had the graphic up at church.
Oh my, so encouraging here. Encouraging to get off my rear, I mean.
Last Sunday morning, Rex preached about the desire of the self to be seen, etc, and I thought immediately about my pre-church question to Micah about my wardrobe--something about whether or not I'd worn that sweater a couple of weeks before and would anyone notice. (I'm all sensitive about my post-prego wardrobe because it's limited.) His response: a relatively compassionate "Who cares?" to remind me that if anyone did notice, it was their problem and not mine. But my response, which I was quick enough to not say aloud, was "I care."
Them's idols of the heart: a desire to be seen by others, to be seen as someone who's got enough wardrobe savvy to look good and original no matter the circumstances. And that idol competes with serious firepower against the selfless lifestyle of love required to serve the world in the way you're talking about here. More than anything else, we want to teach Noel to give himself away for God's glory in the world, but that means we must slice the dross off our own hearts too. May the Spirit come slicing!
Amen! Teaching the pumpkins to give themselves away for God's glory - I've really been thinking about that. I know that involves suffering and sacrifice, and as a mommy, that's scary - but why would I want to keep them from that? Chip Ingram has an excellent series on teaching our kiddos to live well in a fallen world...
BTW, I do understand about the pre-preggo wardrobe...have for several years now... :)
OOPS, I meant post-preggo. No chance of me getting into the pre-preggo wardrobe. Maybe when I'm 50....
Uh huh, I didn't realize I'd need to do some shopping. Especially since these nursing mama-jamas don't feel like they'll ever fit into pre-prego blouses again. . . .
I'd like to hear that Chip Ingram series. Is it available as mp3s to download?
I'm not sure if it's available as an MP3 Jen - I have the CD series, and could ship it to you?
You can see info on it at www.walkthru.org, click on Living on the Edge, click on Marriage & Family, Click on Recommended Resources, and the series is called Effective Parenting in a Defective World. You could probably just google that and find it more easily...
I'm checking it out there. . . . Thanks for the recommendation!
Howdy Shannon (how's that for keeping it 'culturally relevant for Tx from Kenya?)!
This isn't an advertisement but I love your blog post for today. A practical way to help someone who needs help (orphans/widows) is to stop by: www.adoptalegacy.com and pray about what God would have you do. Had two orphans stop by my house just in the last 2 days so don't worry if it looks like nearly all the orphans are spoken for - we can add more.
Legacy differs from other programs in that we offer a holistic approach (food, shelter, education and discipleship.) It costs more per person, sure - but it lasts longer: thus "adopt" a "legacy." We want to do more than just give someone a meal here or there - we want to give them a hope & a future in God's love.
You are welcome to correspond with your sponsored child or children anytime you want and to come and visit anytime you want.
Be blessed, as always, in serving Christ among those less fortunate than us in the West.
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