Not long ago I shared with our World Harvest Church congregations in Columbus, Ohio, and Elkhart, Ind., the revelation that need is God’s delivery system.
When you or I experience a need, its purpose is to draw us to Him who alone can fill that need. That’s true of individual needs like health, finances and deliverance – and it’s true of corporate, or societal needs, as well.
The past several weeks have highlighted enormous needs in our culture for peace, racial harmony, mutual respect and a sense of unity in our culture. Too many of our young people have come to believe that authority figures, especially those from a different culture, are a source of danger for them. And those who enforce the laws that define us as a culture have become afraid that every encounter with the people they are sworn to protect could endanger them. The greater tragedy is that both groups have a reasonable basis for their fears.
These fractures in our community have one and only one solution: the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, expressed through the men and women who comprise His Church.
Unfortunately you and I have been inconsistent in our commitment to praying for our communities, our law-enforcement officers and other first responders, and each other, that the peace of God which is beyond human understanding may invade our homes and our neighborhoods.
God has charged us with modeling the Kingdom of God on earth, but far too often we instead have reflected the demonic influences of selfishness, racism and tolerance of the intolerable.
That needs to change. We, the Church, must become who our Lord Jesus Christ said we are.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that those who follow Him are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. But our salt has lost its savor, having been contaminated with impurities that mar our witness. And our light has been hidden under a bushel, benefitting only a few instead of illuminating a neighborhood, a community, a state or a nation.
You and I, as the Church, have a unique opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ among our friends and neighbors, our extended families and our co-workers. It’s an opportunity that, by His grace, has always been there. But the need for us to take advantage of this opportunity has never been greater.
We carry the antidote for the ills that are plaguing our culture, and it’s the height of selfishness and arrogance for us to keep it to ourselves. Serving others, as Jesus came to do, is our highest possible calling. And we live in an environment that has never needed our service more.
At World Harvest Church we are committed to Love. Listen. Lead. We strive to remember that we, collectively, are the 13th disciple of Jesus Christ, called to serve others in His name. We call this commitment #WeAre13, and I want to invite you to join us from wherever you are.
Becoming part of #WeAre13 doesn’t require an infrastructure, incorporation papers or even any preparation. It simply means sharing the love of Jesus with those in your circles of influence, and with the people you meet each day. At this time in our nation’s history, I hope you’ll join our WHC congregations in showing special respect, love and consideration for members of the law-enforcement community and other first responders. A handshake, an embrace or a word of encouragement is a profound act of servanthood, and it can make a big difference in your community. You can encourage the Church and your community by highlighting your efforts on social media, using the #WeAre13 hashtag.
Above all else,
pray for your community and our nation in the days and weeks ahead, that the demonic atmosphere of fear, violence, racism and dissonance would be overwhelmed and overcome by the life and peace that comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ as His Church becomes the calming, sobering, sane influence He has called it to be.
Change is possible – it is
only possible – when believers like you and me take seriously the charge of our Lord and Savior to bring the love of God to where it is most desperately needed. By His power and might, let’s begin now to make a difference in a culture that is crying out for the divine love contained within each of us.
Pastor Rod Parsley
#WeAre13
