It's about the relationships

I’ve been a member of the NW Christian Speakers Bureau for several years. I love speaking and sharing what God has done in my life. But over the past year, several things have occurred that have prevented me from taking any speaking engagements. It’s been a variety of different circumstances. Each time, I asked God, “Why?” and sensed God saying “just trust ME”. Finally, this past month, I felt that God was telling me to completely remove my name from the bureau’s listing and concentrate on my construction business. It didn’t make any sense to me. Sharing God’s message to hundreds of women vs running a construction company??? Then God reminded me that there were people to be reached right where I’m at. “But God” I whined, “we’re talking about a handful of people as opposed to hundreds!” And he said, “It’s about the relationships, not the numbers.”

So instead I asked him for something big that I could do for the orphans. And he said, “What about Kate? What about Kanani?” And I said, “But God, that’s only two”. And he said again “It’s not about the numbers. It’s not even just about a relationship. It’s about the depth of the relationship.”

In January, Kanani came to our Hope 1.27 meeting. Afterwards, she was visibly upset and I questioned her. She talked angrily about the comfort bags. “Do you really think a bag with a toothbrush and pajamas is going to make a difference??” At first I was offended. “We put a lot of love into those bags,” I thought defensively. But then I took a deep breath and really listened to what she was saying. In a lot of ways, it’s was cop-out, an easy way to assuage our conscience, to convince ourselves that we’re helping the orphans. It was safe…not messy.

But Kanani went back to Iraq and it was convenient to forget that conversation, to convince myself that what we were doing was important and that it was unrealistic to think that we could have a deeper impact. After all, there’s an awful lot of needy kids out there. What we were doing was better than nothing, right?

Then, in that persistent way that God works, I ran across an article that shook my core. It was an article in “Discipleship Journal” and it talks about a group of Christians doing inner-city work. Too often our work of “helping the needy” really comes across to those we’re helping as just another opportunity for a Christian photo-op. We’re sending a message that says “I’m privileged and you’re not - let me fix you.” We project a message of pride, of self-righteousness. We pop in, offer a quick-fix and then we walk away, patting ourselves on the back for our good works, and shaking our heads at the fact that they don’t want to be like us. We forget that this is not the message of humility that Christ taught as he walked this earth.

Jesus took the time to form relationships. He was a friend to sinners. He spent more time relating and less time helping. He didn’t teach God’s love by putting together care packages. He taught God’s love by investing in the lives of others. If we follow his example, we may only impact a few people during our lifetime. But I sense, once again, God saying “It’s not about the numbers. It’s not just about a relationship. It’s about the depth of the relationship.”

What if we took all the money and all of the time we’ve each invested into our ministry projects over the years and instead, each invested that much into one relationship, maybe with one orphan, maybe with one widow, maybe with one single parent, maybe with one drug addict or alcoholic, developed over time? A radical thought? Maybe? But what would Jesus do?

a new year, a new word

Last year my word was "adventure". Everytime I came upon an unexpected turn in the road, a challenge, I would label it an adventure. It seemed to help attitude, gave me a shift in perspective. I've decided to choose a new word for the new year. Faith.

The minister mentioned "fueled faith" in Sunday morning's sermon. I liked that concept but needed to look up the definition before I confirmed it as my new word(s). Fueled: heated, driven, to support or stimulate. Well, that sounds okay - "driven faith". I figured I knew the definition of faith, but decided to check that one out as well. At which point I came across an amazing article by Martin Luther which says "Faith is not what some people think it is. Faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives us new birth from God. It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith." The article goes on to talk about how faith and works are completely intertwined; one cannot exist independently of the other. He closes with the following: "Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do."

I realized then, that the concept of "fueled faith" in which I put my own efforts into fueling my faith is completely preposterous. Instead, I found myself gravitating towards the concept of "sovereign faith".

I spoke at a retreat last spring and we were taught the signing for the newer version of the song "amazing grace". The phrase "His mercy reigns" was signed using the same symbolism as a horse's reigns. We are controlled and directed by God's mercy in the same way that a bridle and reigns control a horse. I absolutely loved this word picture. Sovereign faith gives me that same image - being controlled by a faith that is so much bigger than me. I wish I could take a photograph of my life right now - especially the "inside" - and be able to look back on December 31, 2008 and see what God has done with this.

I encourage you to read the rest of the article. It's short - only 3 paragraphs - but worth pondering.

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/luther-faith.txt

My Christmas Wish...

May you know the wisdom of the Wonderful Counselor, find strength in the Mighty God, experience the unconditional love and grace of the Everlasting Father, and be enveloped by the Prince of Peace.

something to think about...

some amazing statistics were shared in church this morning:
The National Retail Federation is forecasting that Americans will spend $475 billion dollars this Christmas.
The United Nations estimates that just $10 billion dollars would provide clean water for the entire planet and $15 billion dollars would feed everyone.
Makes me think twice about some of the things I thought maybe I "needed" this year...

Gifts

We had church "at home" this morning and in doing so, we began to talk about how we can better worship God in our daily life. This evolved into a discussion about the gifts we've been given. So often we tend to be uncomfortable with our talents - afraid of coming across to others as conceited or "full or ourselves". Yet our gifts really have nothing to do with us and everything to do with the Giver. Last night I gave my mom a gift - it was a new piece for her Christmas village. It was such a pleasure to give it to her and watch her enjoyment. I would have felt terrible if she had stuck it away in a closet somewhere, would have been hurt if she had been too self-conscious to display it. Instead, what a treat to it was to watch her set it out where it could be seen. I'm sure that when others compliment her on it, she'll proudly say, "it was a gift from my daughter!" Which is exactly what we should do with our gifts from God - display them prominently and when complimented on them, proudly say "thank you - it was a gift from my Father!" What better way to worship?