Social Change Book Club:
Happy Tuesday, Friends!
Other than mentioning a few quotes below, I don’t have too much to say or add. I don’t know about you, but I felt as though these past two chapters had so many perfectly written ideas that really punched me in the stomach. While much of this book might not be new to us, sometimes it just takes the right person or the right time to make the concepts and ideas come to life.
So Jesus turns to his perplexed listeners and hits them with another piercing question. When you encountered the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the imprisoned..what was your response? What did you do?
How do you feel when you read this? Does your heart sink a little? I know that mine does. However, like almost everything in life, I think this takes practice. It’s probably not realistic that we’ll be doing this on the same level as Mother Theresa did by next week but we DO need to step up and start somewhere.
This could mean volunteering with a feeding program in your church or community. I did this every week for a year or two in high school and I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Or, this could be as small as a smile, a wave, or buying a sandwich for someone. Another suggestion might be to sponsor a child. My husband and I do this through Compassion International and the program provides children with the food, water, education, and resources that they desperately need.
Jesus was compelled to explain. It was a revolution. If you will tend to the needy, just take the time to reach out with something of value in a spirit of kindness, you will be tending me. It is an incredible thought really. I have meditated on it over and over again, and it makes complete sense. When we reach out, in Jesus’ name, to feed someone-to care for someone, to provide water, to stand up for injustice-in every case, we meet Jesus there. When people inform me that on their mission trip they were impacted more than the people they went to help, I simply smile and remind them, yes indeed. You met Jesus. You touched the heart of God. You felt His very presence. And when that happens, everything changes. Everything.
Have you ever been on a mission trip and had this kind of experience? If you have, you know that it’s almost impossible to put into words. It really brings to life the meaning in the quote above. The challenge is to bring this to life when we come back home.
When we lose sight of God’s work in the world, something dies within us. If we lose contact with the heartbeat of God, if we no longer see the hope for restoration, the passion against injustice, the grief for those who are victimized by the devastating forces of evil and destruction, if we lose sight of the power of the Word of God to remedy what is wrong, as a people, we perish.
As you go through this week I would challenge you (myself included) to re-read some of these quotes and to really think, meditate, and pray about them.
Action Steps:
1. Read Chapters 9 & 10
2. Think of 1-2 ways you could implement what you read about in this section
3. Check back on the blog next Tuesday for thoughts and ideas on Chapters 9 & 10
If you missed out on any of the previous chapters, click below to stay in the loop with the Social Change Book Club
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