Opportunity Knocking on the Church Door

A volcano in Iceland shuts down air traffic in Europe stranding passengers in New York City to sleep on airport cots and shower in public restroom sinks. Tim Stevens wonders if the church is missing an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus and show some hospitality by providing a place to sleep, a warm meal, and a change of clothes.

Got me thinking about what kind of church would help in that situation: probably not a highly programmed church - too busy keeping the machine operating (unless of course they had already set up a ministry program to reach stranded travelers.) Probably not a church more concerned with teaching right answers on a theology exam than living the faith - too busy getting ready for Bible study at the church.

Before coming to any conclusions I shared a lunch with my friend John. He talked about what God had been showing him - that perhaps some of the challenges he saw around him came from people not experiencing God's love. And perhaps his challenges in responding to those people also fell short because he didn't fully experience God's love. Perhaps the most important thing he could do would be to help people experience the love of God.

Simple and profound - I keep thinking about it ... Today I'm looking for opportunities to help people know and experience God's love. Surprised at how often my agenda gets in the way - which leads me to question why my agenda is what it is.

What if the church made it her focus to help people experience the love of God - seems like that would change the way a lot of churches operate. I suspect you would see an encouraging church - less concerned with getting you to do their thing, more concerned that you knew in your soul that God loved you. I suspect you would find a listening church, willing to serve, to understand, to meet you where you are to offer a taste of the gospel. I suspect you would find a humble church, awed by the enormity of the good news of Christ, desperately dependent on God's grace and power to share that gospel in ways that actually pointed people to Christ.

A church like that is a church that would see stranded passengers as an opportunity to show hospitality - just what God does with us wandering travelers, lost in our own agendas, unsure of which way to go, wondering how we will ever find our way home.