Where the World Gets Its Power
John 17:6-19
First of all, she gets it from the world's need. The world desperately needs what you and I have to offer. Whether in far off places or here at home, the world still needs to know the good news of Jesus Christ.
Years ago, in one of his books, evangelist Billy Graham spelled out the world's need in very graphic terms. The world has changed much since he wrote these words. but it was the way things were only one generation ago. He writes: "In China when my wife was growing up, frequently babies who died before cutting their teeth were thrown out to be eaten by pariah dogs. The people feared that if evil spirits thought they cared too much for the children they would come and take another one. They tried to prove their indifference in this crude way.
"In India," Graham continues, "a missionary who passed the banks of the Ganges noticed a mother sitting by the river bank with two of her children. On her lap was a beautiful new baby and whimpering beside her was a painfully mentally challenged child of about three. Upon her return home that night, the missionary saw the young mother still sitting at the river bank, but the baby was gone and the mother was trying to comfort her little mentally challenged child. Horrified at what she thought might be true, the missionary hesitated a moment and then walked over to the mother and asked her what had happened. With tears streaming down her cheeks, the mother looked up and said, "I don't know about the god in your country, but the god in mine demands the best." She had given the perfect baby to the god of the Ganges."
Do you suppose these people needed to be liberated by the good news that God is not a God of darkness but of light, not a God of cruelty but compassion, not a God who demands fear but one who creates faith.? No wonder that in the developing countries, so many people even today are turning to Christ.
Nor do we need to go half way around the world to find people who need the good news that Christ brings. There are people right here in this community who are lonely and heartbroken. There are people with physical needs, emotional needs, and spiritual needs. We are the people whom God has called to meet those needs. And when we acknowledge that truth and live out our lives in service to our brothers and sisters in Christ, then the church really becomes the church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.
And we have so much to give! A visitor from an undeveloped country traveled across the United States. He saw many natural and man-made wonders like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls and the Empire State Building. But he said that, of all the wonders of America, what impressed him most was the large size of America's garbage cans.
We have so many things that we have difficulty disposing of our leftovers. When will we learn that the measure of our lives is not how much we have, but how much we give? The love of God must flow through us to others. As long as it is flowing we are fresh and alive. If we ever seek to dam up the flow and keep God's blessings to ourselves, we will become like a stagnant pond. The church gets its power by meeting the world's need.
Are you willing to help meet those needs?
Questions to Ponder
Do you believe the world still needs to hear the good news?
What needs do you think the people in our community have?
Are you willing to help meet those needs?
In His Service,
Terry Phillips
