"Jesus moved into the neighborhood." Larry said this, quoting the Message Bible. This reminds me that the solutions I provide always need to be hands-on. They can't be at a distance. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great thing to support World Vision and other humanitarian organizations like this. It's great when we are generous with our money. But, this is never enough. I need to personally get my hands dirty, having actual relationships with widows, orphans, pagans, homosexuals, etc. If I follow Jesus, I need to get in the mess and confusion of discipling other people. My personal ministry must always be on the ground, with real people, in the context of community/friendship/relationship. To a certain extent, I'm doing this -- but I am continually challenged by the fact that Jesus moved into the Neighborhood.
Another thing that got my attention is Larry's statement that, "There is no greater joy than having your hopes realized." Wow! That's so true. So, I'm thinking about hope making joy possible. Of course, the scary thing about hope is that it also makes disappointment, deep sorrow and anger possible as well! To hope is to enter into tremendous risk. Frankly, I think that I fail to hope about many things because I don't want to be disappointed or sad. I don't want to put my hope in dumb stuff, but I need to hope more than I currently am. I need to hold out greater hope for my life, this church, the ministries I'm a part of, my family, etc. and not be afraid of the consequences should these hopes not be realized. Being a person of great hope will also mean that I'll be a person of great joy and great sorrow. I think this is the "Life to the fullest" that Jesus promised us.
Finally, Larry challenged us to take initiative in reconciliation. Our Definition of a Disciple at Emmanuel talks about intentionality when it comes to forging friendships with people who aren't like you. Again, this is just something I need to keep in the forefront of my mind and let Jesus lovingly challenge my way of life. I'm just like you. It's easier for me to be with people who are like me. But, Jesus won't let me do this. As Larry mentioned yesterday, Jesus took the 12 through Samaria, across the Sea of Galilee, into Tyre and Sidon. He asked a zealot and a tax-collector to be in his inner-group -- that is craziness . . . unless, of course, the core of Jesus' agenda was reconciliation. Larry wondered about Christians leading the way in reconciliation and forgiveness. Absolutely! Who else is better prepared for doing this than us. We have been forgiven, loved and shown the path of peace. We should be the most gracious and generous people on the planet. There should be no group who is better at loving people who are different, who are antagonistic, who are enemies, who don't talk like us, don't share our political views, don't do what we want them to do, etc. The Spirit of Jesus inside us equips us to be the best enemy-lovers on earth.
Thoughts?
Posted on
Mon, December 15, 2008
by Jason Brown