In the past two weeks I’ve been in a lot of conversations about doing life in community and one aspect I’ve found myself discussing a lot is the idea of serving each other in community. The funny thing I’ve found is that people truly are not put out by lending a hand to someone they love who needs their help. Whether it be childcare for a few hours of time alone or going out together to get some one-on-one friend time or taking time out to follow up on prayer requests it doesn’t seem to put people out at all to take the time and make the effort. In fact, most people felt more impacted by being able to serve someone they love than the people being served in some instances.

But, what about our larger community?

James 1:26-27 (MSG) puts it this way:

26-27Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

So, the kind of religion God is looking for reaches out to help not only people in our relational worlds who are often easy to love, but beyond that, into the world to the “homeless and loveless”. Often, those people don’t seem so easy to love. It’s not nearly as convenient. They don’t run in our circles, in our usual places we frequent. So it takes an intentional effort usually. But, as Douglas always says,

we will never lock eyes with someone who doesn’t matter deeply to God

and therefore should matter to us.

I have to ask myself: When was the last time I got over the inconvenience and reached out to someone who is “homeless and loveless”? I also wonder, will I feel put out and inconvenienced in the end? or will I find that I have been given a lot just by giving of myself?

Ask yourself the same.

If you’re like me, you may not be pleased with the answer to the first question. And I think I already know the answer to the second.

But, please, don’t stop there. Do something about it! Good intentions won’t help anyone. You have to put actions behind the compassion you feel in your heart.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2007 at 8:38 am and is filed under Week 4: Ravaged by a Holy Fire. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.