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28th August 2010
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“About Blind Faith”
21st August 2010
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“You Can’t See God Yet Trust Him”
14th August 2010
12th September 2009 |
| Posted by John Gummer (john) on Sep 30 2009 |
1 John 3:17. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? (NRSV)
Most of us know people who love to tinker. They enjoy taking things that are discarded and making them work like new again. You will often see them driving through their neighbourhood, looking for appliances and machinery that people have tossed on the curb as trash because they no longer work. What others consider worthless garbage is hidden treasure to these kinds of people. Looking beyond the broken mess, they recognise potential. With skilled hands, they can carefully restore the castoffs into useful service again.
Jesus was like these “tinkerers.” He spent much of his time working with those who had been put aside by others: the poor, prostitutes, lepers, and mentally ill. Those who others had shunned, Jesus saw as valuable children of God. He sought them out, picked them up, healed them and cleansed their souls, and lovingly restored them to useful service in God's kingdom.
In the world that we live in today, we see people everywhere who appear broken. Some may seem beyond repair: the homeless, the inmate, the drug addict, the greedy business executive who always wants more, the tyrant. But Jesus calls us to see beyond people's problems, to love them and restore them to useful service in God's kingdom. God wants nothing more than for you and me to partner in this type of sacrificial service
Prayer
Lord God, open our hearts that we may hear your call to serve our neighbours. Help us to reach out to those who seem broken and express to them your love. Amen.
Thought
To serve God we need to serve others
Focus
To see and nurture the potential in those near me
WRITTEN BY JOHN GUMMER FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE WEEKLY “UPDATE”
Last changed: Sep 30 2009 at 4:49 PM
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