To some degree we probably all think about saving the world. Its seems clear that most people spend time thinking about what is wrong in the world – and subsequently complaining about those problems. So while you may not have woken up this morning thinking about how you would save the world it’s probably not a stretch to imagine that most of us did take a little time out to gripe about what’s wrong.
We listen to prognosticators claim that they will save the world. Of course, they need our dollar, our vote, and our promises to keep them alive. We often think that the fixes must come from these who seem to have the ideas, the energy, and certainly the funding. They convince us to join drives, make pledges, listen to politicians promote their agendas, tote banners, and post inane remarks and links on our social media pages
We know the world’s broken. We even sometimes attempt to fix this brokenness. And we get tired. Really quickly, although we often get bitter before we get tired and that may be even worse. The bitterness makes us feel like we’re at odds with the world and then our mission of salvation of the world begins to take second place to our mission of destroying all that’s wrong in our version of the world.
Here’s the challenge. Today, I do not have to save the world, but I can create some peace, and in so doing will save the world. Contentment in the moment may not feel like saving the world but listening to a 17yo share with you the stats of OBJ may absolutely bless and enrich their lives in a way that we will never fully understand. It might be taking the day off work and sitting in a courtroom full of brokenness as a friend did this week and simply saying out loud for everyone to hear; ‘this is not right.’
The moments you had today belong to you and only you today, in the moment in which they were experienced and acted upon. Pick a problem; hunger, shelter, abuse, shameless exploitation, and whatever you may see as so glaring. Now, pick a moment – here’s a guarantee; that moment will include a person – and bring some peace. Feed them. Clothe them. Embrace them. Appreciate them.
It’s what Christ has called us to do. You can’t force peace, you must offer it, and in so doing you’re going to find out you’re offering a piece of yourself. Piece for peace. In those moments you will have true thankfulness.
Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
to some degree there are no easy writes. this one definitely ranks up there. sometimes it’s easier to think we’re saving the world and ignore the moments. added on 11.17.21
Seek Understanding 