This morning I (and about 7 other guys) spent the morning cleaning about 3 miles of highway 11 for the Adopt a Highway program. I am not going to lie, getting up at 9:15 to go pick up beer bottles, cigarette buds, cassette tapes, and other goodies was not the most enticing thing. But I did it, and as Brandon (the men's housing coordinator) and I walked down the highway picking up trash and talking, I stopped and said, "You know, I bet this is the kind of stuff Jesus would do...".
As I continued to walk down the road and pick up trash, that though stuck with me. Then I began to think, "Wow, are we missing the point?" We live in a society that is very concerned about self:self image, self rights, self, self, selfish. What would Jesus have to say about that?? I think he said to treat others as you would treat yourself.
Then I really started thinking (I know, picking up trash on the highway may not seem to breed deep thoughts... but it did today) about church culture in America. We seem to be more concerned about the color of the carpet, the lights, the sound level, the instruments used, and the list goes on. When are going to start caring about reaching a lost world? Or, when are we going to want to get down and do the dirty work to make a difference?
People notice change. It is one thing to talk about the freedom in Christ, the love of God, and the joy and peace of Jesus, but it is another to actually live it. That is what is going to make a difference in this world, people stepping out of their comfort zone and into the world. I think if Jesus was walking around today, He would be downtown with homeless, talking to people at Walmart, helping people with problems, sitting in bars with drunk people and gays sharing the love of God. He would not yell at them; he would love at them.
The world is searching and looking for answers in all the wrong places (80% of the items I found on the road today were beer bottles)... maybe we just need to live out the answer instead of talking about it once a week and then putting it on the spiritual shelf till next week.
SO, go out and do something that you would not choose to do. People will notice, and may even ask you what makes you different. Doors may open that you never thought possible just by living the gospel. The gospel does not stop once you accept Christ; it is something that you live every day. You are salt,
you are light.
It is not a question about whether you want to be, it is about what you are going to do with that fact. Are you going to engage the cuture, or just sit on the shelf?
As I continued to walk down the road and pick up trash, that though stuck with me. Then I began to think, "Wow, are we missing the point?" We live in a society that is very concerned about self:self image, self rights, self, self, selfish. What would Jesus have to say about that?? I think he said to treat others as you would treat yourself.
Then I really started thinking (I know, picking up trash on the highway may not seem to breed deep thoughts... but it did today) about church culture in America. We seem to be more concerned about the color of the carpet, the lights, the sound level, the instruments used, and the list goes on. When are going to start caring about reaching a lost world? Or, when are we going to want to get down and do the dirty work to make a difference?
People notice change. It is one thing to talk about the freedom in Christ, the love of God, and the joy and peace of Jesus, but it is another to actually live it. That is what is going to make a difference in this world, people stepping out of their comfort zone and into the world. I think if Jesus was walking around today, He would be downtown with homeless, talking to people at Walmart, helping people with problems, sitting in bars with drunk people and gays sharing the love of God. He would not yell at them; he would love at them.
The world is searching and looking for answers in all the wrong places (80% of the items I found on the road today were beer bottles)... maybe we just need to live out the answer instead of talking about it once a week and then putting it on the spiritual shelf till next week.
SO, go out and do something that you would not choose to do. People will notice, and may even ask you what makes you different. Doors may open that you never thought possible just by living the gospel. The gospel does not stop once you accept Christ; it is something that you live every day. You are salt,
you are light.
It is not a question about whether you want to be, it is about what you are going to do with that fact. Are you going to engage the cuture, or just sit on the shelf?
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