Dear Friends,
Are you close enough to those who suffer to feel their pain yourself? Many times I have sat in meetings or been a part of conversations that questioned whether they church really should be helping those who walk in from the street. Often those discussions are filled with questions asking “What if?”
What if they take advantage of us?
What if they use the money we give them to buy alcohol?
What if the story they are telling us is not true?
What if they go back to their old way of life?
What if they take our generosity and walk away?
What if I get hurt?
What if it takes too much of my time?
What if I do not have the answers to their problems?
What if . . . ?
What if . . . ?
What if I lived as Jesus lived?
What if I loved as Jesus loves?
Jesus demonstrated for us a different kind of life and a different kind of leadership than many of us are comfortable with. As Henri Nouwen in his book The Wounded Healer, states “The beginning and the end of all Christian leadership is the give your life for others” (77).
How many times did Jesus heal a person and tell them to go and sin no more and the person then went and sinned? How many times did people take the second chance given to them my Jesus and squander it? We do not know. The Bible never says. Maybe that is just the point. To love is to risk being taken advantage of and to be hurt but we love and serve anyway. Nouwen goes on to say “Who can save a child from a burning house without taking the risk of being hurt by the flames? Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in their own heart and even losing their precious peace of mind? In short, ‘Who can take away suffering without entering it?'” (78)
Blessings,
Pastor Stephen