Where They Are
Sometimes I wonder if it is enough to do what we do.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Luke 10:1-2
In the great commission, Jesus speaks to his followers with a sense of urgency. It is not sufficient, he tells them, to wait for him to arrive when he comes. Instead they must go ahead to all the places he will visit and bring peace to those who accept them.
There is much to do; the harvest is plentiful; there are opportunities to serve everywhere.
Back in his day, there were no local churches and congregations to serve the communities. If you wanted to reach people, you had to go to them. They couldn't come to you.
I remember when I was young, people would come to the house to try to sell us stuff. From brushes to encyclopedias, knives to make-up, salesmen and saleswomen would come and sit with Mom and Dad showing them what they had to offer, making it personal.
Mom would have Tupperware parties and invite the neighbors in to see what the latest offerings were in the amazing world of plastic food containers.
There is something to be said for that sales approach, especially now, when so much of what we do and see comes to us through the Internet, allowing us to stay at home.
The people who came to our home got to know us on a personal level. They could call up and ask if we needed any brushes or if we were interested in the new year book to update our library.
They understood our financial situation and understood if we needed to wait until payday.
When we take our message home to where people live, we make it personal and real. We are not merely offering a sermon to a crowd, but are delivering prayers and healing where it is needed.
Genetic engineering is providing the medical community with the ability to customize treatments with designer drugs targeted to cure diseases on an individual level. So, while physical medicine is becoming more and more personal, our spiritual medicine is not.
I think it is time we get out of our castles and visit the people where they live.
We may just find there are many who have no idea we are here.
More to come...