I have been thinking much lately about the church and how Jesus must have envisioned it working. How the early church lived close and "had everything in common." No, they weren't all the same...they all shared what they had. Their differences when pooled together, made enough. With food. With labor. With supplies. With....whatever they had. Because God made the Body to function like that. Like a body. Whole. Able.
But it feels like the Church has bought the world's view. That it is about a savings plan. No, not the spiritual kind...a monetary kind. That investing the money means doing it to make a profit. Somehow, I think that the investment in people is more what God had in mind. I always tremble a little when He talks about the man who stored up so much wealth, so much grain...who had more than enough...and then he was dying. Without the ability to take it with him. Grains mold if stored too long. Get rancid. It's like that with money too...in a different sort of a way. When it gets put away in order to "keep us safe" or to be our shelter, eventually, it erodes our faith. Because somehow we lean too hard on that and it becomes more and more important. Caution is well observed. Though, a savings is an excellent idea. For a rainy day. To help. To provide in the future for self or others. As long as it is done with an eye to what God has for today. What to give. What to share. What to simply enjoy and be thankful for. TODAY. In this moment of living. Enough to eat? Be thankful...and SHARE. Enough gas in the car? Share something with someone who is struggling. Don't always work on the world system of what is good business sense. Not that being a good business person isn't a wonderful thing....it certainly is. I admire it a lot. But it's kind of like my son said...there's business and then there's that cut throat attitude where the dollar means everything. He doesn't want the second. that made me smile. He's almost 21 and wise.
But wouldn't the Church be looked upon in awe if nobody in the church needed public services? If the needs were cared for? If none went hungry? If all had a place to live? I think that we each have some resources. And some needs.....but I think that together, if we worked in this manner, the WORLD would see concretely the love of Jesus. He would be lifted up and His renown made known without uttering a word.
Just my wee little thoughts on this Sunday morning.
blessings.
But it feels like the Church has bought the world's view. That it is about a savings plan. No, not the spiritual kind...a monetary kind. That investing the money means doing it to make a profit. Somehow, I think that the investment in people is more what God had in mind. I always tremble a little when He talks about the man who stored up so much wealth, so much grain...who had more than enough...and then he was dying. Without the ability to take it with him. Grains mold if stored too long. Get rancid. It's like that with money too...in a different sort of a way. When it gets put away in order to "keep us safe" or to be our shelter, eventually, it erodes our faith. Because somehow we lean too hard on that and it becomes more and more important. Caution is well observed. Though, a savings is an excellent idea. For a rainy day. To help. To provide in the future for self or others. As long as it is done with an eye to what God has for today. What to give. What to share. What to simply enjoy and be thankful for. TODAY. In this moment of living. Enough to eat? Be thankful...and SHARE. Enough gas in the car? Share something with someone who is struggling. Don't always work on the world system of what is good business sense. Not that being a good business person isn't a wonderful thing....it certainly is. I admire it a lot. But it's kind of like my son said...there's business and then there's that cut throat attitude where the dollar means everything. He doesn't want the second. that made me smile. He's almost 21 and wise.
But wouldn't the Church be looked upon in awe if nobody in the church needed public services? If the needs were cared for? If none went hungry? If all had a place to live? I think that we each have some resources. And some needs.....but I think that together, if we worked in this manner, the WORLD would see concretely the love of Jesus. He would be lifted up and His renown made known without uttering a word.
Just my wee little thoughts on this Sunday morning.
blessings.
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