Francis Chan said something like this this past weekend at one of our stops in Arkansas. He was asking the question “Do we really want to be like Jesus?” It’s a good question.
Jesus, he said, is asking us to follow Him, not just believe in Him, and He doesn’t make it easy. Jesus says I’m going to walk through this door over here, do you want to come? Do you want to follow me, because there are some crosses right out there on the other side and you may have to carry one up a hill and they might nail you to it? Or you might never see your parents again? Can you do that? Some people might hate you, is that something you can handle? Do you really want to follow me?
He went on to remind us that Jesus wasn’t rich and asked again if we wanted to be like Him.
Then he communicated, again, something I know and I’ve said before but he said it in a way I’ve never thought to, in a way that made me stop and evaluate myself: You may be asking God, “If you’re so loving and great why is there so much suffering in the world?” And I think, he said, God will ask us the same question some day when we get to Heaven: “If you thought I was so loving and good then why was there so much suffering in the world?”
I’ve heard others say it this way: The question to ask when we see suffering and evil in the world is not “Where is God?” The question to ask is “Where are God’s people?”
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this was encouraging to me today…thanks
Where are God’s people?
1)Unaware there is a need.
2)Unsure where to start.
3)Selfishness.
4)Do not believe that they will make a difference.
How many of us have been told that we are not good enough to make a difference? Such as that we do not have the talents or resources to make a difference. How many of us try to help and are told that our help is not needed or wanted even though there is need.
I believe that you once stated that you get roughly ten to fifteen percent sponsorships at each show. I wonder how many people do not sponsor a child because they do not believe that it will make a real difference.
I know that what I wrote seems to simple and maybe even childish, but maybe there is a little bit of truth to it.
Thomas
I think there’s a lot of truth to it Thomas (Don’t belittle simplicity; it’s powerful and a gift I wish I had more of when writing.)
Compassion’s president, Wess, once told me there are two main reasons people don’t get involved in helping the poor – to pick just one example of need. First, we don’t know (like you said) there is a need. Once we know about the need we don’t know who to trust to meet that need.
Yes, about 10% of the crowd sponsors but that’s a percentage of total bodies in the room and many of them came together as families. So the percentage of units (single people, married couples, entire families) is much higher. And those that don’t sponsor often stop to tell me that they already sponsor or they do something else for the poor somewhere in the world. There are very few people at the end of the night who aren’t doing SOMETHING for the poor and those that do may be wondering if they can trust me and Compassion. My hope is that those people continue to investigate ways to be involved until they find one they can trust.
My family is studying the book of John right now together and in John 7:7 Jesus said “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” My commentary in my Bible says “because the world hated Jesus, we who follow Him can expect that many people will hate us as well. If circumstances are going too well, ask if you are following Christ as you should. We can be grateful when life goes well, but we must make sure it is not at the cost of following Jesus halfheartedly or not at all.”
I think that is an important message relative to your question “where are God’s people?” I know there is evil and I know I need to do something about it even though I’ll be hated. I also just finished Shane Claiborne’s excellent book “Irresistible Revolution” last night and he’s doing what Jesus called us to do in the worst part of Philadelphia, just 30 miles from where I’m sitting in a plush leather chair in affluent suburbia.
Excellent reminder today Shaun.
Kevin
Those are some good challenges, thank you for those.
To help the suffering is to suffer and at times, we just don’t know if we can take it. Love hurts.