Everybody brings something to the table. Nobody comes empty handed with nothing to give. People are empowered to feel a sense of actualization as a contributing member to the meal. They understand that they have something to give, even if its a bag of chips. They have something everyone else can use.
Potlucks are everywhere in today's church culture. They provide context for community and put everyone on an equal playing field. Everyone brought something, so everyone instantly becomes "one of" the community.
That sense of contribution and the subsequent feeling of confidence and pride that comes with it is invaluable to forming a healthy community.
So why are so many systems of service in America acting in opposition to that sense of "oneness" & "togetherness"? For all of our culture of service, are the people we are coming in contact with feeling like they bring something to the table as well? Are they being allowed to feel like they have something to offer?
I look no further than my own life to relate to the poverty mindset. I grew up in a tough home situation, where much of the time we didn't have much money or resources. There were many people who dropped off groceries on our front doorstep and ran away, or who helped us one time and then never again.
But you know what made the biggest difference? The people in my life who called me friend. They didn't view me as a project, they weren't primarily concerned with "saving me". They simply cared about who I was, who I was becoming, and showing me what I had to bring to the table.
Just read what Jesus says in John 15: 9, 12-17 (emphasis mine):
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other."
Jesus has called us friends. By his great love and the work of his Holy Spirit, he has revealed to those of us who follow him who we are, how we are gifted, and has empowered us to play a part, to contribute, to his work on this Earth.
This is a glimpse of what Jesus has been saying to me. There are action steps ahead that will come with time.
I want you to consider what this means for you. When you give or serve, are you letting the Holy Spirit guide you and are you focusing on the "who"? Are you seeking to form community and looking for ways to allow people to use their gifts? Are you taking on a spirit of humility and a desire to learn?
How can we stop measuring our service by how it affects us? How can we be people who empower others through the Holy Spirit to take next steps in who they are becoming?
"Nobody is so poor that they have nothing to bring to the table." - Bob Lupton
We all bring something, and we should never be so selfish as to disallow others to bring what they have. We must care for the needs of those we serve above our own.
Very simply, as Jesus has loved us, so we must love others.
No comments:
Post a Comment