Why do we carry burdens? Why do we hurt so badly and feel so helpless? Why do we get weary and our defenses lower? What causes the heaviness felt so real in the chest it’s as though bricks were piled there? What brings on the shortness of breath? Why, why does God command us to share in such feelings of hopelessness and deprivation? Why is it a command, not a suggestion or an aside? If I’m not mistaken, it says somewhere in Galatians, “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” How is that the deciding factor, the crowning point of following and completing the law?
I suppose it teaches us to get messy. That life is messy. To roll up our sleeves and get involved in one another’s lives. I guess you could say it’s a part of being that “living sacrifice” Paul talks about in Romans 12. The step beyond the dos and don’ts, it’s the action that replaces the inaction. It’s stepping outside of our comfort zone—we can control how we obey the law, but we can’t control people, their emotions, and relationships. It’s a messy affair but we are called to it, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Life is unpredictable. We could laugh one minute and be on the verge of tears the next. Someone could be a Christian school headmaster and football coach at one stage in life and then be diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes and kidney before the age of 40. Some one else could be hysterically amused by the simpleness of Blue Bugs, sweet tarts, and blue ink early on in life only to come to an incomprehensible impasse with life in general at a later time.
Such is life after the fall. We laugh, we cry. We are commanded to share in both because that is how Christ has chosen to incarnate the message of the gospel—through the practical, tangible mercy of bearing one another’s burdens. We are not meant to be alone no matter how badly we may wish to retreat to a corner and hide.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Just Under 12!
In just under 12 hours we will be at the start of the Uttermost endeavor! Here's a look at some of the things we'll pass along the various routes of the Shelby Park:
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Monday, October 02, 2006
More Things Worth Doing
Eat, sleep, breathe, repeat. That seems to be what I'm doing with the Uttermost now that it's October. It's not that I'm expressly busy with the planning and coordinating at this point so much as wracking my brain to figure out who else I can tell, where else I can post a flyer, what other creative things I can come up with to get people to GIVE MONEY! Especially on-line. I was so excited about getting an on-line giving feature up on the UTTERMOSTrace.com website, and you know how many people have donated...TWO! Come on folks! I love y'all with all my heart, but we can do better than this.
This week begins mega planning for me on the financial end of things. I'm in charge of keeping track of the financial donations that come in from around the country to help support organizations such as Blood:Water Mission and African Leadership, digging fresh wells and nurturing both the physical and spiritual needs of our indigenous brethren in Africa. Money to keep Mercy Children’s Clinic a thriving and vital part of our community, enabling them to give medical attention to a wide variety of children with varying needs and means. And then there's Servant Group International--what better way to bring the peace of the gospel to the Middle East, minister to our persecuted brethren, and raise up the next generation of Iraqi politicians, business men, and spiritual leaders than from within the country itself. I want desperately to be so busy this month that it takes me weeks to calculate how much money we've raised for these great missions groups!
These are exciting times. These ministries are doing exciting things. Won't you join us in encouraging them in their Kingdom calling?
