Could This Be True Of Me?

I am posting a reading from My Utmost For His Highest. March 4th and 5th he unpacks one of my favorite verses, Acts 20:24. I thought this was powerful. ~Everyone Belongs, Paul

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself.” Acts 20:24

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis.

What do I really count dear? If I have not been gripped by Jesus Christ, I will count service dear, time given to God dear, my life dear unto myself. Paul says he counted his life dear only in order that he might fulfil the ministry he had received; he refused to use his energy for any other thing. Acts 20:24 states Paul’s almost sublime annoyance at being asked to consider himself; he was absolutely indifferent to any consideration other than that of fulfilling the ministry he had received. Practical work may be a competitor against abandonment to God, because practical work is based on this argument – Remember how ‘useful you are here, or – Think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.” That attitude does not put Jesus Christ as the Guide as to where we should go, but our judgment as to where we are of most use. Never consider whether you are of use; but ever consider that you are not your own but His.

Get a job

I was sitting in my favorite coffee shop getting things done over a month ago with the news caught my attention. Five or six companies announced layoffs that meant 50, 60, 70 thousand people were losing their jobs. 

When I sit and read the news I try to ask the question, what’s a Christ-follower to do? What should be the response of the church? It seems like all of us know someone without a job right now. 

It is a very helpless feeling when someone comes to you and says they are out of work. Even more helpless when they are losing their house or cannot feed their family because they have no income. Sometimes it even feels helpless to just say, “I’m praying for you.” Prayer is the most powerful weapon in a Christ followers toolbox, but as one author says, We have to pray as Christians, not Theist.
In a book that has really shaped me called, The Holy Longing, Ronald Rolheiser unpacks this thought. He says that the prayers of a Christ follower have to be ‘incarnational’.

Rolheiser writes, “If I see colleague or friend who looks depressed and pray for her, but do not speak to her, then I am praying like a theist, not as a Christian. If I pray for a friend today but do not send him a postcard to tell him I am thinking about him, how is that prayer supposed to touch him? If I pray for world peace, but do not, inside myself, forgive those who have hurt me, how can God bring about peace on this planet?

Our prayer needs our flesh to back it up.”

So I talked to a friend about the job thing. His name is Craig. He’s a go-getter, a kill it and drag it home kind of guy, and I asked what if our church could just do something simple to help connect people to available jobs. Well, Craig is all over it. He started calling employers, and people looking for work to discover the ins and outs of this.

We found something. A lot of people without jobs right now are depressed and not even trying. If you lose your job, don’t go home and watch the news. I personally know people, who have thrown up their hands and are just going to wait for things to turn around before they get back to work. It’s such a tough place to be.  People are nervous, scared, afraid, and without hope. Many don’t know Jesus personally. I think I lessen my chances of them coming to know Him if I just say, I’m praying for you. Not a bad thing, but it needs flesh.

So we’ve started with something simple. We posted a page at www.westridge.com/jobs that can act as a simple hub to help you brainstorm where to go to find your next opportunity. Craig also started a facebook group (http://tinyurl.com/an4ewf). As opportunities come in we post them. In the last three weeks a small number of folks have found jobs through these resources and others have found solid leads. We’re posting events at other churches and resources from our Chamber of Commerce and Local Department of Labor Office, and a few others. We’re willing to post more as information comes to us. It’s our way of putting a little flesh to our prayers.

At the bottom of the page on the West Ridge website you can e-mail me and let me know if you are looking. I have a list of folks I have prayed for, and will continue to.

Everyone Belongs, 

Paul