You must excuse me from breaking the letter to God format but as I have yet to receive any emails from people looking to submit anything I find myself beginning to look at this blog as more of a place for general spiritual musings. I'll still write a good deal of letters but I'll also write a bit more conventionally sometimes too. Again, if you have something you want to post, whether a reply to one of these posts or simply something that is on your heart, send it to my email at spokes4oryoungfolks@gmail.com...Now on with it!
This title is slightly ambiguous so before you attack it and disregard the post, let me clarify. What I mean by church health is that the parishioners are seeking God in their lives and living out an authentic faith. I should probably go a bit further in explaining that I'm not trying to suggest absolute human perfection either. The truth is that we are called to a different kind of perfection as followers of Christ. It doesn't mean we shouldn't seek to sin no more but there are issues that can arise when we become legalistic and almost lose sight of the fact that even the person with the absolute least amount of sin in this world is incapable of bringing about their own salvation or even standing in a higher ranking in the eyes of God, whose primary ranking criteria is as follows:
Sinners (everyone, population a whole bunch to be technical)
vs.
Sinless (Jesus Christ, population one)
Secondary criteria:
Sinners who accept Christ's gift of undeserved salvation
vs.
Sinners who build a tower of Babel to reach God (or whatever they choose to worship in their lives)
Basically, you're not going to do it yourself so lets get that thought out of our minds. I like sports metaphors so you'll have to forgive me if you're really interested in athletics, but basically the invention of fantasy leagues have made sports fans increasingly interested in statistics. In this system the value a particular player is perceived to have is completely dependent on how many points per game (PPG) or rebounds per game. Being a healthy church of believers doesn't look like a group of people who are doing well to earn God's favor through a dominant performance of sorts. It doesn't mean averaging a triple double in Souls Won to Christ (SWC), Sinless Moments (SM), and Bible Verses Memorized (BVM). None of these things are bad and just as a basketball team, whose primary goal is to win games finds themselves scoring points and getting rebounds because they are playing winning basketball, if we as the church are striving to be a healthy kingdom people we're going to see our fair share of good fruit as a direct result.
What I'm really hoping to direct our attention to is this notion that is becoming particularly popular in today's church that a healthy church is one that is growing in terms of numbers. Again numbers aren't bad, nor are they good. Numbers are quantitative by nature and can go in either direction. 100 Superheroes = Good; 100 Villains = Bad. The problem is when the overall value of us as a body of believers is entirely derived from the number of people we see come through the door.
Anybody in the church wants a high attendance figure because this can mean that the church is reaching a great number of people in the community. Churches also hope for a congregation that faithfully tithes, not only because it allows them to keep the lights on and pour out into the lives of those in need, but because tithing is a definitive act of surrender to God. It goes along with everything God wants from us, to give up trying to be the God of our own lives. To stop looking to control things out of our hands or provide for ourselves when God can do far better for us than we could ever hope.
High attendance and high tithe figures can be a bad thing though, because as I just said, numbers are neither good nor bad, but simply quantitative reflections of the things we either value or don't value. If a particular church starts out at 100 people who faithfully attend and within two years that number inflates to 1,000 people, there are a number of things we might assume about the situation. An optimist might suggest that the church simply did a great job at being the body of Christ in their community and as a result of being a light in a dark place they reached into the hearts of 900 individuals who found refuge in their congregation. That is ideal and we can only hope that this is the case all the time. Unfortunately there are other factors that might have contributed to the growth of this church. Perhaps they have great events on their calendar or a worship band that is good enough to go on tour and put out albums of their own (not dissing David Crowder Band or Hillsong here). Maybe this body of believers is meeting under an umbrella that allows them to be just a little bit too comfortable, very much looking like the world around. Again we're speculating here.
On the other hand we may have a church that was 100 people and two years later it stands at either the same or very close in either direction. The number again, is not a direct reflection of anything so much as a base from which we can begin to analyze. Could the number have stayed close to the same because the congregation was simply maintaining who they were as a counter culture and not marketing themselves to their community? Maybe they showed love but offered an uncomfortable alternative to a life of sin apart from God that is often too natural for us to shake. Following Christ doesn't mean we are no longer sinners, but that we humble ourselves before God in that sin and seek to kill off every part of us that is trying to run our own lives so that God can begin to get more of the say in how we live our lives so this scenario wouldn't be a bad one if it were the case. Then again, the numbers may have stayed nearly the same because the church became an exclusive club of insiders who were too unwelcoming or just never bothered to reach out into the darkness and show love to others.
The bottom line is that a number does not tell us anything if it stands without explanation or is further defined.
And so we come to a relevant example that is circulating around the blogosphere about Mars Hill Church in the great state of Washington (not to be confused with Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan which was founded by Rob Bell). In this article which I recommend you read (click this!) it discusses how this massive growing church (upwards of 5,000 members, not to mention thousand more attendees) deals with disciplining its members. In this case it deals with how a particular member was dealt with after confessing to cheating on his fiancee, and separately, to engaging in an inappropriate relationship outside of marriage with his fiancee as well. The member, Andrew, was dealt with harshly and cut off from the community he was once a part of. This disciplinary action was passed off as a loving act on the part of the church to allow Andrew to tend to his failing relationships with both his fiancee and God.
I will not try to make my own case for whether this church's disciplinary actions crossed the line or not but as my dear friend, and fellow young pastor Kevin Nye points out (click here this time!) it seems absurd that a church would support cutting off an individual for their personal sin when in reality there is not a soul on earth without sin of their own. And yet, even if the leadership of Mars Hill Church had not been the ones responsible for alienating Andrew to his own modern day leper colony, if we are to honestly look at ourselves in the mirror we just might see our own affinity for pointing to the splinter in one's eye while a plank remains firmly lodged in ours.
Why bring all this up? Obviously because it is perhaps as perfect an example as I can find of a church that is growing that appears to be struggling in the health department, at least when isolated to this particular area. Now to be fair it should be pointed out that any church is going to inevitably have their own weak points because it is made up of unique and flawed individuals who are trying to live against their very nature. The church is kind of like a child trying to finger paint the image of their Father. The image is not really very close to the specific and detailed image of the Father in real life and despite their best effort to replicate what they see they fall short. Yet it is their passion and desire to paint that image that makes it truly beautiful. The real thing I want you to consider is that while a growing church may seem more appealing or perceived to have higher value on a global scale, it does not get a free pass on being held accountable as a body of believers trying to authentically glorify God in this world.
Growth is good, but without health it like a spreading cancer, eating away at the larger Body it is a part of.
As always I welcome comments and criticisms on either here or you can comment on my facebook page if you wish, just please be reasonable and polite regardless of whether you're for or against what I've written.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
God Works Through the Willing
Dear God,
It's Matt. Today was pretty awesome and inspiring. I've only been in ministry all but a couple weeks so far and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to do things. Thankfully I have a great group of teens who are teaching me probably more than I'm teaching them and a church family that is very patient and forgiving of me not quite knowing what I'm doing just yet.
Today really helped me get some perspective and prepare my heart for what might be in store and I'm excited to tell you about it, but first I want to take you back to last Sunday. It was a long day for me. After service I got the chance to go out to lunch with a guy named Pat who is kind of in the same boat as I am. He too just graduated college and is in the process of starting out on his own and while he's already engaged unlike me, we had a lot in common and it was nice to be able to just sit down with someone my own age and chat awhile at Applebees. When I got back to the church I decided to just hang around town since I'm still looking for an apartment closer by and didn't want to drive a half hour back home knowing I would have to come back in an hour. I went to Caribou Coffee to get a campfire mocha and made some phone calls to my younger brother and sister.
Then I headed back to the church because we were gathering to go to an event called Winterjam that is a big concert put on by the band Newsong. We loaded up some cars and headed downtown and I got to spend the short drive chatting with Alex, who is pretty much the only young man in the youth group right now and it was great just talking with him.
At the concert we all had a great time and I realized that I'm starting to feel old at 24 because the music was too loud to me and I wished I could hide further from the speakers. What is happening to me! I don't usually care for the band Newsong because they just aren't the style I've come to like really but this time I started paying attention to their lyrics and there was a song they did about you called The Same God that celebrated how faithful you are to us and how you'll never lead us in to something without staying there to see us through it. I'll be honest, this transition from being a student is tough for me right now with trying to pay bills and get my feet under me while figuring out how to serve the kingdom by leading my teens and I probably needed to hear that song as much as any of the other 10,000 people there that night. Thank you for sticking with me and not giving me more than I can handle with you working through me. I'm reminded of my own shortcomings pretty regularly but you've always worked through the weak and unlikely and I'm just fortunate that you're willing to work in me and let me be a part of something much bigger than myself.
But let me get to today before I get too long winded (although you know me well enough by now to understand that brevity is not one of my gifts). Today was awesome as I said! I stayed up way too late last night but by 10am I was on the road heading to Mount Vernon, OH. It's about a two hour drive and one I'm obviously pretty familiar with having gone to school there for a year. Still it felt like it took forever with how tired I was and I was just savoring that iced coffee I picked up before I left.
When I got in to town I drove past the university and while there were obviously reasons I transferred out of it after a year, I couldn't help but think back and feel like that year was a part of your plan for me in an odd way. I learned a lot and even though I felt I needed to leave to attend Southern Nazarene University all the way out in Oklahoma City, I'm glad I'm back where I grew up.
I stopped by one of the churches to pick up Pastor Tom who was my youth pastor from the time I started going to church in 6th grade until right before I graduated high school. We went out for lunch and it was nice to just speak to a humble man of You (that's funny). When I think back to my youth group experience I honestly felt it was run flawlessly, but Tom is as humble as they come and was quick to admit things that he's growing in. I think the most important lesson I took away from today is that I don't need to be a perfect pastor or even a perfect Christian in the sense of having no flaws. We're all unique and there are things I'm good at but also things I struggle with and talking to Tom made me realize that you'll work with the willing to accomplish your work and demonstrate how awesome a God you are.
Thank you for being there with me through all these crazy adventures that we seem to get in to. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Until Then,
Matt
It's Matt. Today was pretty awesome and inspiring. I've only been in ministry all but a couple weeks so far and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to do things. Thankfully I have a great group of teens who are teaching me probably more than I'm teaching them and a church family that is very patient and forgiving of me not quite knowing what I'm doing just yet.
Today really helped me get some perspective and prepare my heart for what might be in store and I'm excited to tell you about it, but first I want to take you back to last Sunday. It was a long day for me. After service I got the chance to go out to lunch with a guy named Pat who is kind of in the same boat as I am. He too just graduated college and is in the process of starting out on his own and while he's already engaged unlike me, we had a lot in common and it was nice to be able to just sit down with someone my own age and chat awhile at Applebees. When I got back to the church I decided to just hang around town since I'm still looking for an apartment closer by and didn't want to drive a half hour back home knowing I would have to come back in an hour. I went to Caribou Coffee to get a campfire mocha and made some phone calls to my younger brother and sister.
Then I headed back to the church because we were gathering to go to an event called Winterjam that is a big concert put on by the band Newsong. We loaded up some cars and headed downtown and I got to spend the short drive chatting with Alex, who is pretty much the only young man in the youth group right now and it was great just talking with him.
At the concert we all had a great time and I realized that I'm starting to feel old at 24 because the music was too loud to me and I wished I could hide further from the speakers. What is happening to me! I don't usually care for the band Newsong because they just aren't the style I've come to like really but this time I started paying attention to their lyrics and there was a song they did about you called The Same God that celebrated how faithful you are to us and how you'll never lead us in to something without staying there to see us through it. I'll be honest, this transition from being a student is tough for me right now with trying to pay bills and get my feet under me while figuring out how to serve the kingdom by leading my teens and I probably needed to hear that song as much as any of the other 10,000 people there that night. Thank you for sticking with me and not giving me more than I can handle with you working through me. I'm reminded of my own shortcomings pretty regularly but you've always worked through the weak and unlikely and I'm just fortunate that you're willing to work in me and let me be a part of something much bigger than myself.
But let me get to today before I get too long winded (although you know me well enough by now to understand that brevity is not one of my gifts). Today was awesome as I said! I stayed up way too late last night but by 10am I was on the road heading to Mount Vernon, OH. It's about a two hour drive and one I'm obviously pretty familiar with having gone to school there for a year. Still it felt like it took forever with how tired I was and I was just savoring that iced coffee I picked up before I left.
When I got in to town I drove past the university and while there were obviously reasons I transferred out of it after a year, I couldn't help but think back and feel like that year was a part of your plan for me in an odd way. I learned a lot and even though I felt I needed to leave to attend Southern Nazarene University all the way out in Oklahoma City, I'm glad I'm back where I grew up.
I stopped by one of the churches to pick up Pastor Tom who was my youth pastor from the time I started going to church in 6th grade until right before I graduated high school. We went out for lunch and it was nice to just speak to a humble man of You (that's funny). When I think back to my youth group experience I honestly felt it was run flawlessly, but Tom is as humble as they come and was quick to admit things that he's growing in. I think the most important lesson I took away from today is that I don't need to be a perfect pastor or even a perfect Christian in the sense of having no flaws. We're all unique and there are things I'm good at but also things I struggle with and talking to Tom made me realize that you'll work with the willing to accomplish your work and demonstrate how awesome a God you are.
Thank you for being there with me through all these crazy adventures that we seem to get in to. I'm looking forward to the next one.
Until Then,
Matt
Life As Vapor: Ecclesiastes
I can think of no better book in the Bible to set the course for what I'm hoping this blog will look like than Ecclesiastes. It's a seldom used book that can be taken as really cynical but there is an odd sense of optimism in it when we come to understand the very fabric of what our life is here on earth. I encourage you to read it all the way through sometime, but it just so happens that this week I led a group study of it and we did a little general survey of the book so this is the sort of devotional I wrote for my youth group. As always I encourage discussion. Maybe tell me your personal experience with the things we find in Ecclesiastes and what you think about all of this. I like writing, but having conversation is even more rewarding to me. Please comment if you feel so inclined and again, if you have anything you would like to have posted to this blog just send it to me at my email address that you can find at the top of the home page. Be aware that I may have to make some editing marks here and there and how many I post will be determined by how many are submitted but I promise I won't make wholesale changes and that I will try to get around to everyone's work. This is your blog, help write it.
Thanks,
Matt
Ecclesiastes
Have you ever found yourself complaining about life, saying things like, “I don’t want to go to school or practice,” or, “I just wish I could go do something fun,” or even perhaps, “my life stinks!” Anybody? What do you sometimes find yourself wanting more out of in this life?
Now perhaps you’ve picked up on things from the media. Take TV for instance. How many shows can you think of where the main character was talking about how much they loved their job? It’s rare.
More often than not we get the message that life stinks or it is like a virtual hell on earth. The things we hear about in the positive are often just the fun things in people’s lives. Whether it’s a famous recording artist singing about the parties they get to go to or athletes tweeting about the new car they just bought. It never really seems to focus on the bulk of their lives, the work side of it, the times that are seemingly insignificant.
We journal about the moments that are the exceptions in our lives. We don’t write about how we brushed our teeth today unless that’s something we don’t normally do (yuk!). Instead we write about the stuff that doesn’t happen all the time. “Today we went on vacation to the Bahamas, last night a group of us went to see a movie, or tomorrow I’m going to buy that new video game.”
People in the world use a framework of “life is hell” when their jobs are tough or they’re ill or they just don’t see a purpose about their everyday lives.
Today I want us to look at the book of Ecclesiastes. This is perhaps the most cynical or “emo” book in the Bible to be honest so why would I choose this as my first lesson? Its because Ecclesiastes also might be one of the most real and somehow optimistic book in the Bible as well. There is a raw honesty about life contained in these words that helps us really come to terms with the nature of this life we have been given and the blessing we have.
In Ecclesiastes they use the word meaningless to really introduce the chapters to follow. The Hebrew word used here in place of meaningless is hebel which means “vapor.” When I think of vapor I think back to when I was a younger and had to have a vaporizer in my room. Vapor is made up of water droplets but it doesn’t have much substance and it doesn’t remain present very long. It comes and it goes almost in an instant. The basic idea is that we can apply to the overall theme of the book of Ecclesiastes is that we have but one life to live on this earth and life itself is fragile as vapor is also fragile.
The thought of life being fragile and that it can come and go just as vapor or could even be mentioned in the same sentence as being meaningless sounds pretty depressing. If we stopped at verse 1:2 we would be pretty sad but if we read into the rest of this book we come to find that life is anything but meaningless. In fact, in the book of Ecclesiastes our lives matter, but more importantly, the moment we find ourselves in at present is what matters most.
The first verse of the first chapter gives a little background about this book and while we are not absolutely certain about who the author is, most scholars believe it is written by Solomon. Use these verses and my very brief notes to survey some of the basic message of Ecclesiastes but I encourage you all to read the whole book sometime if you have a chance. After each group of verses, discuss what the Teacher is saying in terms we can understand. My example that I like to work off of is to compare the author to a mega superstar recording artist like Jay-Z or Justin Bieber.
*DISCLAIMER: The word “wine” really is supposed to mean Cherry Coke :)
Ecclesiastes 1:2-9
Better to be a young wise man with nothing in our pockets than a rich fool.
Ecclesiastes 5:15
I earlier used the example of successful musicians like Justin Bieber or Jay-Z who spent their time building a massive mansion and even has men and women musicians (so basically they have huge parties with entertainment). Jay-Z spent a long time working hard to build up all these things and is denying himself of no earthly pleasures. He worries that someday his enormous wealth is going to be handed down to his great grandchildren and he doesn’t know if they will be wise people or foolish. What if they throw away his wealth that he worked so hard for? In the end, he doesn’t really get a choice in the matter so ultimately, spending so much time trying to acquire wealth does not ultimately matter since there will come a day when Jay-Z will no longer be just as there was a day when he didn’t exist.
I like to think of a Great Gatsby kind of party!
We understand that in this life we are called to be a part of the narrative of God (a narrative/never ending novel that has chapters not only about Abraham, Moses, and Jesus but chapters about us that we are co-authoring with God in our lives) and are given the opportunity to participate in the ushering in of the Kingdom of God on earth. Life is made up of vapor and we are given a finite opportunity to be kingdom people. At the day of judgment when we sit down with God I imagine we’ll have a conversation about the life we’ve lived and God will smile upon us as we fondly tell God stories about our favorite parts of the life we were given and we’ll have a beautiful conversation about that life we lived together. I sometimes wonder if I’ll have much to say, if I’ll have done my very best to pen the words that God has for my life in God’s perfect plan. I would like to think that when that day comes and I read that story to God that it will sound as much like Jesus as possible.
We know that we are significant to God as Christ would have undoubtedly gone to the cross for even the sins of just one person as he came to serve and love the “least of these.” Still we understand what the author is trying to say about our place in the narrative of God’s people. We are one of many raindrops in an endless river, or a tiny blip on a timeline that stretches from the beginning of creation into eternity. We are small but God’s love for us is infinitely vast.
We may feel like Jay-Z or the author in our lives. Sometimes the things we do today will not be credited to us tomorrow. Maybe we’ll create an awesome youth room together and 20 years from now we’ll return to see that the teens it was entrusted to did not take care of it.
We may not get a trophy or recognition for the good things we do in the kingdom work of God, but it is those every moment opportunities that we have to be the Body of Christ in this world that are the true blessings handed to us by the hand of God.
Thanks,
Matt
Ecclesiastes
Have you ever found yourself complaining about life, saying things like, “I don’t want to go to school or practice,” or, “I just wish I could go do something fun,” or even perhaps, “my life stinks!” Anybody? What do you sometimes find yourself wanting more out of in this life?
Now perhaps you’ve picked up on things from the media. Take TV for instance. How many shows can you think of where the main character was talking about how much they loved their job? It’s rare.
More often than not we get the message that life stinks or it is like a virtual hell on earth. The things we hear about in the positive are often just the fun things in people’s lives. Whether it’s a famous recording artist singing about the parties they get to go to or athletes tweeting about the new car they just bought. It never really seems to focus on the bulk of their lives, the work side of it, the times that are seemingly insignificant.
We journal about the moments that are the exceptions in our lives. We don’t write about how we brushed our teeth today unless that’s something we don’t normally do (yuk!). Instead we write about the stuff that doesn’t happen all the time. “Today we went on vacation to the Bahamas, last night a group of us went to see a movie, or tomorrow I’m going to buy that new video game.”
People in the world use a framework of “life is hell” when their jobs are tough or they’re ill or they just don’t see a purpose about their everyday lives.
Today I want us to look at the book of Ecclesiastes. This is perhaps the most cynical or “emo” book in the Bible to be honest so why would I choose this as my first lesson? Its because Ecclesiastes also might be one of the most real and somehow optimistic book in the Bible as well. There is a raw honesty about life contained in these words that helps us really come to terms with the nature of this life we have been given and the blessing we have.
In Ecclesiastes they use the word meaningless to really introduce the chapters to follow. The Hebrew word used here in place of meaningless is hebel which means “vapor.” When I think of vapor I think back to when I was a younger and had to have a vaporizer in my room. Vapor is made up of water droplets but it doesn’t have much substance and it doesn’t remain present very long. It comes and it goes almost in an instant. The basic idea is that we can apply to the overall theme of the book of Ecclesiastes is that we have but one life to live on this earth and life itself is fragile as vapor is also fragile.
The thought of life being fragile and that it can come and go just as vapor or could even be mentioned in the same sentence as being meaningless sounds pretty depressing. If we stopped at verse 1:2 we would be pretty sad but if we read into the rest of this book we come to find that life is anything but meaningless. In fact, in the book of Ecclesiastes our lives matter, but more importantly, the moment we find ourselves in at present is what matters most.
The first verse of the first chapter gives a little background about this book and while we are not absolutely certain about who the author is, most scholars believe it is written by Solomon. Use these verses and my very brief notes to survey some of the basic message of Ecclesiastes but I encourage you all to read the whole book sometime if you have a chance. After each group of verses, discuss what the Teacher is saying in terms we can understand. My example that I like to work off of is to compare the author to a mega superstar recording artist like Jay-Z or Justin Bieber.
*DISCLAIMER: The word “wine” really is supposed to mean Cherry Coke :)
Ecclesiastes 1:2-9
What we might understand this to mean is that we are a part of the narrative of God’s people. God has done work in the past and will continue in the future. We are important but not essential in a way.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11The author is basically saying that even after chasing earthly pleasures it does not give true meaning to his life or real satisfaction.
Ecclesiastes 2:14-19The wise man and fool both reach the similar fate so in the end their legacy is not truly what makes a difference in who we are. Our work in the world will be handed down to the next generation just as the previous handed down to us and entrusted to us.
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25The best thing we can do is to drink Cherry Coke and enjoy the work that we are given in this life.
Ecclesiastes 4:13Better to be a young wise man with nothing in our pockets than a rich fool.
Ecclesiastes 5:15
Our wealth will not go with us. It is the vapor that is our time on earth that truly counts, not the things we build up for ourselves.
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10Eat, drink Cherry Coke and be merry, for this is your lot in life.
Ecclesiastes 9:11-12Some things just happen by coincidence and the old way of thinking that we see challenged in Job is dead.
Ecclesiastes 11:9You who are young, be happy. Let your hearts give you joy, follow the ways of your heart and desire. A life in which we only have the present moment but in that moment we have that breath, vapor, existence that we can make the world better.
I earlier used the example of successful musicians like Justin Bieber or Jay-Z who spent their time building a massive mansion and even has men and women musicians (so basically they have huge parties with entertainment). Jay-Z spent a long time working hard to build up all these things and is denying himself of no earthly pleasures. He worries that someday his enormous wealth is going to be handed down to his great grandchildren and he doesn’t know if they will be wise people or foolish. What if they throw away his wealth that he worked so hard for? In the end, he doesn’t really get a choice in the matter so ultimately, spending so much time trying to acquire wealth does not ultimately matter since there will come a day when Jay-Z will no longer be just as there was a day when he didn’t exist.
I like to think of a Great Gatsby kind of party!
We understand that in this life we are called to be a part of the narrative of God (a narrative/never ending novel that has chapters not only about Abraham, Moses, and Jesus but chapters about us that we are co-authoring with God in our lives) and are given the opportunity to participate in the ushering in of the Kingdom of God on earth. Life is made up of vapor and we are given a finite opportunity to be kingdom people. At the day of judgment when we sit down with God I imagine we’ll have a conversation about the life we’ve lived and God will smile upon us as we fondly tell God stories about our favorite parts of the life we were given and we’ll have a beautiful conversation about that life we lived together. I sometimes wonder if I’ll have much to say, if I’ll have done my very best to pen the words that God has for my life in God’s perfect plan. I would like to think that when that day comes and I read that story to God that it will sound as much like Jesus as possible.
We know that we are significant to God as Christ would have undoubtedly gone to the cross for even the sins of just one person as he came to serve and love the “least of these.” Still we understand what the author is trying to say about our place in the narrative of God’s people. We are one of many raindrops in an endless river, or a tiny blip on a timeline that stretches from the beginning of creation into eternity. We are small but God’s love for us is infinitely vast.
We may feel like Jay-Z or the author in our lives. Sometimes the things we do today will not be credited to us tomorrow. Maybe we’ll create an awesome youth room together and 20 years from now we’ll return to see that the teens it was entrusted to did not take care of it.
We may not get a trophy or recognition for the good things we do in the kingdom work of God, but it is those every moment opportunities that we have to be the Body of Christ in this world that are the true blessings handed to us by the hand of God.
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