What Does God Expect Of Us? By Larry Weber
Jim Wallis and some friends involved in Bible Study cut out all the verses in their Bibles that dealt with poverty, wealth, (in)justice and oppression. They named what was left the “American Bible.” In Matthew 27: 3739 Jesus tells the Pharisees that the most important commandment in the Law of Moses is, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. …A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.” The issue is not whether or not we believe the words of Jesus but how do we apply His words to how we live our lives. We seem to know how to love God with all our heart, soul and mind; it certainly is made easier by the incredible corporate worship we experience each week at Christ Church and our daily study of the word. But how do we live out the second commandment–loving our neighbor as ourselves? What are our responsibilities to the people in the world who are living in areas of poverty, injustice and oppression? This past fall I read Rich Stearns’ book, The Hole in Our Gospel. The book makes the case for expanding our personal faith into a public and transforming relationship with the poor and sick of the world. As I read the book, I was troubled by my own beliefs, attitudes and (lack of) actions in caring for the poor. I live in the richest nation in the world with freedoms
that many can only dream of. I have an income that is in the top 1% compared to the rest of the world. But I do not have an awareness or understanding of the twin crises of poverty and sickness that affect many of my neighbors in other parts of the world. My values/belief system would suggest that those in poverty should grab hold of their bootstraps and pull themselves up with no understanding of how unlikely, if not impossible, that is for my neighbors in other parts of the world. Yes, at Christ Church we do many things that serve those Down the Hall, Around the Corner and Around the World. And I do not mean to minimize the impact those things have upon our neighbors. But does our understanding of stewardship truly demonstrate our love of neighbor in an intensely personal way? Do we have a Hole in Our Gospel that needs attention? At Christ Church my role as Director of Ministries is to identify opportunities for growth for our congregation. For Lent it is my desire to engage the entire church in this stewardship study, The Hole in Our Gospel. In this 6 week quest, we will learn how Stearns believes our lives can be transformed as we grasp the magnitude of the challenge and the opportunity to fill the Hole in Our Gospel. I am asking you to join a small group for our church-wide Lenten Study or establish your own group. Every God Is Calling You connection class will be devoting their time to this study. The quest to fill the Hole in Our Gospel begins in March and April and we invite you to be a part of it. 3