Recovery

In Mark chapter 9, we see Jesus teaching principles of the Kingdom of God, including areas
concerning compassion, such as verse 41:
41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

He also spoke of acting as salt, which, as it has been pointed out, is a preserving agent.  Verse 50
says:
50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

Because Christ has had compassion on us, we can transmit that compassion to a world in need.  We can be that cup of cold water, we can be the salt, that not only preserves, but it seasons, it enhances the flavor.  As we radiate the character of Christ, we can be a force for good and even bring out the best in people, as we reflect Him and they reflect us.  We have tremendous capability to impact our world for God's glory, and we possess that powerful force, the Holy Spirit, to enable us to do it.

+++++

There are tremendous needs in the world today, and it is important that we take our responsibility seriously as believers to compassionately address what we see in our communities.  Jesus said in
Matthew 5:
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

I think it's so important that we emphasize where God is working - in our lives, in our churches, and in the Church, at large.  Certainly, the Church has its share of problems and inconsistencies - after all, Jesus has chosen a group of sinners to be counted among His followers; and the good news is that He has called us to salvation, to be set free from our sins so that we can have a right relationship with the Father.

So, when I go to secular media and see church leaders taking potshots at the body and bride of Christ, it is quite frustrating - as certain types of behavior that don't line up with Scripture are business as usual with the Church and there are only a few "enlightened" ones who hold all the keys to this miserable group of vagabonds getting their act together.  I don't think the the Washington Post and the New York Times are the places where Christians ought to be airing their grievances with one another; and we have to be so careful on social media, as well.

I want to spotlight a church in Dallas that decided, in observance of the Resurrection and apparently not under compulsion to social pressure, to exalt Jesus and meet the needs of people.  Period.

The story is found on The Stream website.  The church is Covenant Church, which has four locations in the Dallas area.

Covenant partnered with nonprofit group RIP Medical Debt, which acquires unpaid medical debt at greatly reduced rates then forgives it. The church’s donation of $100,000 resulted in eliminating a total of $10,551,618 in medical debt owed by 4,229 households in the Dallas area.

“While introducing ourselves as a local church to these families, we also showed them that we aren’t trying to get something from them — but rather give something to them,” said Pastor Stephen Hayes in a statement to The Stream.

This is an issue that hits home for Stephen, who was struck by a car when he was 17 and spent 12 days in a coma.  The article states:

A long recovery awaited when he awoke. Yet the church banded together to help cover their medical bills.

These events helped inspire him and church leadership to prioritize debt elimination as a community outreach. “My family has known the crushing weight that can come with medical debt,” says Hayes. “I felt strongly that the ability to buy it for just one penny on the dollar was not just a great opportunity, but also an act of good stewardship.”

The organization, RIP Medical Debt, is fairly new, and specializes on helping veterans, who were the emphasis of this Dallas church's actions.  The story says that:

The group acquires debt at low rates available only to those savvy in the debt-buying industry.

Their website notes a faith angle to their purpose. “The idea of debt forgiveness goes all the way back to biblical times of a ‘Jubilee,’ when all debts are canceled and all those in bondage are set free.”

The church learned about the organization through the local NBC affiliate - the article says that, "Nationwide, NBC-owned affiliates have eliminated $15 million in medical debt and counting."

Some might say these are challenging days for the Church - and certainly, because we are sinners, you are going to see activities and attitudes that mirror what we see in the world.  But, the good news of the Gospel is that we can be set free from our sins, that we can experience repentance, and that God can change our hearts and our behavior!   We are then set free to glorify Him through good works - not as a prerequisite or part of our salvation, but the fruit of it.  

Pastor Hayes said this:

Quoting his father, he notes a longtime prayer at Covenant has been: God, give us our city. “We recently have changed that prayer to God, give us to our city,” he says. “We began to ask the question, If our doors closed tomorrow, would our city even notice? If [local families] fall on hard times, we want to help get them back on their feet as soon as possible.”

His father is a founder of the church.

Transforming lives is a central focus of the Church.  As we have been renewed by Christ, we are sent to display principles of that renewal to the communities we are called to serve.   Through our obedience to those Spirit-directed opportunities, we can be more effective in showing the world who Jesus is.  The essence of the Gospel is not carried through a negative op-ed piece, but through the positive effects of spiritual regeneration.