12.22.2009…..6:48am

December 22, 2009 in Journal with 5 Comments

Yesterday, my friend Alva Carter Jr. went way out of his way to be bestow great grace. I was right. God is up to something around here. I cannot afford to not be part of it. Later, after meeting with the Baileys about the Wednesday funeral, Fred and Delores Eichenberger invited me over for dinner and MNF. Dinner was great but MNF was laughable. Tisha called while I was there; she and the kids safely made it to her sister’s in Rockwall. For that I am grateful.

Allen McKinney, the associate minister at 16th & Pile, has coordinated an effort to supply needy families with meals for Christmas. Yesterday I went to Albertsons and picked up a turkey and sides to deliver to a family here in Clovis. They lived in a neighborhood I had yet to visit. Life there is hard, much harder than I would have imagined. They invited me in and were very grateful for the food. The mother even gave me a hug.

It felt good to cross the tracks, bestow grace though a simple meal, and yet not ask myself, “I wonder how they got like this?” It doesn’t matter how or why. What matters is that they are in need, and this Christmas they will have something to eat.

In the past I’ve been resistant to the Bible’s teaching on social justice because I was fearful that “a social gospel would produce social sponges.” I even used Jesus’ own words to substantiate my resistance (John 6:26-27). It’s funny though that Jesus knew all this and he did it nonetheless. So shouldn’t we?

  • http://treymorgan.net Trey Morgan

    Many of the needy in this country and needy because of bad choices they made. That being said, they still deserve our action oriented compassion. For too long the church has been the voice for Jesus (essential) but not his hands and feet (just as essential).

    Being church is not just about our message, but also our compassion. And I find it interesting that the people who got heaven in Matthew 25 were those who fed the hungry, clothed the naked, sheltered the homeless, etc. Those that got hell did none of those things. The other thing that strikes me in that passage is what he doesn’t say about those who got eternal life … he doesn’t say, “For you came to church every Sunday, you gave 10%, you sang the right songs the right way, you took communion…” Maybe as preachers we are guilty of over emphasizing the wrong thing and under emphasizing the right things to do.

    Social justice? You asked :)

  • Theresa

    I agree with Trey. I used to look at those less fortunate and always try to figure out if their own actions got them into their current situation. If so, I would look at them through a different light. I am ashamed to say that I would feel as though they “got what they deserve” if I thought that they made a conscious choice to be that way. But after working at that center for the abused, I realized that a lot of the wrong choices are made by people because love was never shown to them. A bitterness is built in their hearts before they are ever even adults. So really, how much of that can we place the blame on the individual for? It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

    “Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world.”
    — Frank Warren

    If we really want to live like Christ, the thing to do in these instances is to love without prejudice. Just like you are doing, Doug. I believe that when we get to the heart of it, it is the lack of God and lack of love that produces this indifference and lifestyle. I pray that I look at others through the eyes of Christ, every day. It isn’t easy.

    Thanks for the thought provoking journal entry, my friend.

  • http://www.douglasryoung.net Doug Young

    Trey and Theresa…Thank you for your comments. I agree whole-heartedly. Hope you both have a great Christmas. Trey…Looking forward to the Warrior Dash!

  • Sam Dilbeck

    Doug,

    I appreciate your thoughts as well. I feel almost ashamed to admit that I have never assumed people are in their circumstance because of bad choices. Maybe my own background has helped me see their suffering, because I so easily identify with it, having grown up in sever poverty (family of four earning less than $8000 a year). In the midst of it, I never realized just how poor we were.

    Now I have been preaching for over 15 years, and compassion and benevolence has been a big part of my preaching. In 2009, Westhill implemented a benevolence program to help with food, clothing, and bills. We helped feed over 170 families (several of them on multiple occasions). We also kept the lights on, water running, prescriptions filled, and rent paid for 55 people. That’s more than 1 family helped per week.

    As far as the Mattew 25 quote is concerned, Trey rightly pointed out that the condition was compassion or Christian living, as I like to call it. Of course he did not mention attendance, or singing and such, because these are people of the kingdom. They were already doing that. What they needed to understand, is that while that was important, the daily living was important too. I miss you, Doug. Hope your family is well.

    Sam

  • http://theobloggers.com/members/douglasryoung/ douglasryoung.net

    Sam,

    Thanks for the comment. Sounds like things are going well at Westhill. Hope you, Julie and the boys are doing well.

    Doug