Stop Worrying About The Carpet

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” – Matthew 25:34-40

<Journal Entry Jacmel Haiti 26 Sep 2011> Quite a weekend – spiritual warfare – struggle with the flesh – strong attacks – must be getting close to a stronghold – I know that the very gates of hell will not prevail against me – Jesus is the Victor. I suddenly feel very tired – when I stop for a rest that happens  - so long as I keep moving, I am OK. There is a chicken that comes by looking for a handout. Can we look past the exterior of people – maybe even the really ugly parts and see what Jesus saw – the heart? I am waiting for the guys to show up – volunteers from Alabama who are going to help us push through the “wall”, the last few miles of the marathon. – got interrupter – two goats walked in the back door – I told them they had to play outside – OK – got to get moving or take a nap – the second is not an option.<End of Entry>

Reading what I had written that day – it seemed so disconnected – Moments in my life that would have been lost when the sun rose the next day.  It reminded me of the fact that I was alone – in a different land – on mission – doing that seemed impossible to many – but possible to God. The chickens and the goats wandered all over the compound. Just yesterday I was concerned about some weeds growing in our back yard. What is significant – important to us – has a way of changing – depending upon our circumstances.  But – at the same time – the significance does not really change – just our response to it does. I recall two churches in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. We had gone there the same week that Katrina landfall. Trained by the Red Cross, a group of us had gone from our church to help set up a shelter there. In the church where the shelter was established – we had an emergency medical clinic – right in the main hallway. People would come in bleeding on the carpet seeking treatment. I remember commenting, “This is the Church in action.” Not the building – but the Body of Christ.  The Sunday school rooms had cots in them. The fellowship hall was converted to a warehouse filled with food and supplies for the local residents. The kitchen ran 24-7 receiving hot meals from the Salvation Army and feeding anyone who needed food. The gym was filled with cots for the volunteers. The church property was ringed with camping tents. Nurses were sleeping in the sanctuary. And just down the road – another church was willing to help, but made it clear that people could not come into the church – they had just installed new carpet.

Who are we willing to help and at what cost. Do we care more about our earthly treasure and less about the people in need? There is always a tension between the flesh and the Spirit. God asks us to to what is contrary to conventional wisdom.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” – Philippians 3:7-10

That was Paul’s attitude toward earthly gain! Is that something that you can embrace? Not intellectual agreement, but practical application in your life? Writing of such things to people who live in a culture of plenty – most living in a bubble, protected from the world of want and hardship is hard to clearly communicate. The question is not have you, but would you? Like those two churches – for one their willingness to lay theirs lives down seemed limitless. For the other – there has a hard line that they were not will to cross – we will do this but no more. They would not surrender all! A picture of the Body of Christ.  We all know what is expected – we all nod our heads in affirmation to its truth and rightness, but balk when comes home and lands our doorstep. The two greatest commandments – love God and love others – like Jesus asked Peter after Peter had denied Jesus – “Do you love Me, Peter? Feed My Sheep!” Or – stop worrying about the carpet!

Be encouraged. Shine Bright my friend and give God the glory He is due.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone