Called to shine

Once a year our church has a mission-focused week packed with speakers and activities and a major fund-raising project. Last year we raised $50,000 for a hospital in the Congo. This year we hope to raise $30,000 to build a community center, school, and home for a traveling missionary in northern Thailand.

We begin our week with a parade of flags from many nations, and once again Arielle was eager to participate. Last year she carried the China flag, but this time the flag of Honduras. That was meaningful to her since my niece recently took a trip to that country. After the flags, some people from a Burmese church in the city spoke and performed some songs. It was very emotional to see these former refugees sharing their faith and their hope, even though their lives right now are so difficult.

The theme for the week is "A Community Called to Shine." Our speaker Sunday was Dwight Robertson from Colorado. He's written a book called You are God's Plan A (and there is no plan b). He is a dynamic guy and he challenged us to join the laborers in the field, not in a foreign country, but in our own daily circumstances. We've heard that before, of course. But how exactly do we go about doing it?

Dwight made some interesting observations from Matthew 9, small words we could easily overlook by our familiarity with the verses. How did Jesus reach out to people? "Getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city." Note: his own city. And people came to him with their needs. "As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man..." He SAW a man. That man turned out to be Matthew, an unpopular character, but Jesus took notice of him. Look at the legacy Matthew left behind--the gospel of Matthew we're reading today, all because Jesus stopped to talk to him.

In the same chapter, Jesus is walking along and a woman who wanted very much to remain anonymous reached out to touch the fringe of his garment. She believed that to do so would heal her. "Jesus turned, and seeing her, he said..." Jesus SAW her, one of many faces in the crowd, but he stopped what he was doing for this woman. Later on we read, "And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him..." Jesus ministers to them also. Then, "As they were going away..." someone else with a need was brought to him.

Jesus was always on his way somewhere or leaving one place for another and this is where much of his ministry took place. What kind of people do we meet "on the way?" We're always on the go, aren't we? There is the sullen cashier in our local food store, the busy waiter at the restaurant, the silent librarian when we return our books, the bored young woman at the bank.

Dwight had us cover our eyes with our hands. (Yes, silly gestures but it helped us remember his message.) Often we go about our tasks with our eyes covered. I know I do. I want to get my errands done with the least amount of interaction with people. Dwight said to uncover our eyes and SEE people, notice people. He had us hold up our hands, palms out--STOP. Then we tapped our wrist. Give a little time. SEE-STOP-GIVE TIME. Jesus modeled The Plan for us.

So many people who cross our paths our invisible to us, and I admit sometime I feel invisible too. Nobody gives the time of day to older women. But we need to notice people, care about people, and give them a little time. That might be an encouraging word, or at the very least, a smile. We need to let them know they are not invisible. It's so simple, but sometimes so difficult. I'm going to make an effort to try this. When God sees we are willing to care for his people, we open the door for him to work. He will bring those with needs to intersect our lives.

The end of Matthew 9 says, "When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

God's Plan A is us, his laborers. Dwight describes it this way: "Laborers are ordinary people who deeply love God and actively love others. They seek to live a life of love...every moment of every day."