Well, in case you're wondering, we have hired a new lead pastor! We're really excited about his family moving here. He'll be moving out here soon. If you want to know more, check out the link to the right for Meridian Point Church and catch up with what's going on in our lives in ministry.
Today I spent some time reading a book called The Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Right now I'm only in chapter 4 or 5...he was just talking about his trip to Calcutta. You know, I'm not really big on leprosy. I don't know if I could bring myself to shake Shane's hand because he said he touched them. But as I was reading he made a very clear point:
Jesus had the ability to heal people of this disease. Jesus had the power to heal anyone of anything, even raise people from the dead. But even those rose from the dead died again. And those who were healed from sicknesses got sick again. What imprinted Jesus in people's minds was the love He showed. Jesus said that we are known as His disciples by our love. We may not have the ability to touch people and heal them physically, but we do have the ability to touch them with love. It was Jesus' love for people that brought Him to touch them. What kind of love do we have...do I have if my love doesn't match this, if I can't bring myself to a point of humility before someone else and value them as an equal no matter what they've become, how they look, or their past!
I was also reading about the disciples and them fighting about who was the greatest in Luke 9. Jesus told them that in order to be the greatest you must be the least; receive the least. Another mention was a parable that Jesus was telling people about the Kingdom of Heaven. He said that whatever we do to the least of these we do it unto Him.
The point is that those of us who claim to know and love God need to realize that we only love Him as much as we love the least person. It's easy to love those who love us, but to "lower" ouselves to love the unlovable, to touch the untouchable, demonstrates who Christ really was and who He really is now. The Jesus of the Bible loved unconditionally. Do we...really?
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