One at a time...

It is tempting in the current political and economic atmosphere to think in grand sweeping strokes. To get the economy "jump-started" our leaders have moved from greasing the wheels of "micro-economics" to large infusions of money in Keynesian "macro-economics." The idea is this. If you spend very large sums of money in certain sectors of the economy you will see a "trickle-down" effect as those sectors hire laborers, purchase goods, make investments, and so on. Those laborers then hired will use the money from their jobs to purchase goods, homes, cars, etc. which will all in turn begin moving the larger economic spin-wheel. If you spend the money in the "right" areas then that may serve as "investment" for all of the other areas (like manufacturing over financial services, green tech over carbon fuel tech). Well, that's the theory at least as it is cast in a grand vision of mobilizing the country back toward prosperity.

As I was praying this morning, I began with asking God to move in large and powerful ways - in our country, in our city, in our church. What came to me as I prayed were the faces of dozens of individuals each with their own circumstances and stories. I was moved to begin praying for each one of them even though I knew that would consume the hour we had set aside for our Morning Prayers.

This struck me as a prophetic picture of how the church functions so entirely different from human institutions. The church is concerned with individuals growing deeply in their relationship with Jesus and their "Abba, Father" relationship with God. Large and grandiose visions or large and grandiose churches aren't bad in and of themselves - but they are never a replacement for intimacy and connectedness and especially how the Spirit works healing, grace, and love inside of those intimate relationships made up of individual people.

Each of these individuals has a story and a history. They have hurts and joys. They have people they love. They have people they fear. They have hopes and sorrows; they have areas of trust and areas of mistrust. They all have mothers and fathers, some are mommies and daddies themselves. Most go every day to some kind of work and look to that work to provide for their needs.

It may be that as our attention is drawn in the political sphere and by the media to the larger equations, that the function of the church will be to remind us of God's love for the individual person and God's plan for each of us. In scripture and throughout history, God's BIG plans have always begun with a small group in an out of the way place - well away from the cities and people that represented power and influence.

What this means for you and me is that there is important work to do. While highly educated people figure out complex economic equations, you and I have a very important, very purposeful mission of love. And this mission isn't some grand evangelistic scheme. It is quite simply to love our NEIGHBOR as ourselves. It's to love them like Jesus loves them and to invite them to join the community that authentically celebrates and lives that love.

And this happens one person, one story, one decision, one life transformed at a time.

Blessings!

Pastor Jay