The local church has a lot of resources at it's disposal. Really, for the amount of need in our communities think of the impact if the church maximized it's effectiveness.
I was reflecting on my work the other day while sitting at a local coffee shop (the typical place I go searching for divine inspiration). Specifically, trying to pinpoint the limitations/barriers I felt were keeping FBC from fully releasing the year of Jubilee on the Norman community. My mind wandered to motives.
It is a popular thing among the American Church to want to make sure we are "good stewards" of our resources. I completely agree. When this concept, however, drifts into a benevolence (distributing of basic needs) environment the majority of us might run the risk of giving our resources with strings attached. I have found myself thinking, "I will give out this food only this many times to this same person because surely after 2-4 months they should be able to find a job." or "I will only give out this bicycle to them if I know they will be responsible with it/not pawn it for money the first chance they get."
To me, this sounds a lot like the parable of the slave who was forgiven his debt then turned around and demanded that his be payed to him.
God gave me grace freely, without looking into the future to make sure I would be responsible with it. I know he did this because I have taken his grace many times and sold it at the local pawn shop for money. Maybe, the pure way to give to the poor will look irresponsible to our Western minds. Yeah, I think it will. Can a slave who has been set free turn around and give grace with strings attached?
Yes...the older I get the more indebted I feel to that mercy and the more open-handed I want to live. You continue to put the Kingdom into words. Well done.
ReplyDelete