During
the course of the last four years in TTC, I visited 10 churches as part of the
Field Education programme, there seems to be some truth to this statement. There
are a number of churches where I went in and sit in the congregation, and then
left after the service without anyone noticing or talking to me. As a pastoral
staff, I can recall there were days where I seem to be so ‘busy’ that I simply
go through the motion with people instead of offering something that is
relevant to them and meeting their needs.
Many
people who come to the church would probably not bother with what I know,
unless they know that I really genuinely care for them and love them with the
love of Christ. I sense that there is a necessity for change – a change in
thinking, a change in feeling, and a change in behavior. Indeed, it is only
when people we care for know that we love them and praying for them, that there
could be a good possibility that we could touch them.
I
am convicted that caring for people is a challenging but rewarding task that
requires the internal reality of our lives to match with the external actions. I
also think that Jesus has given us the answer; Jesus has modeled for us what a
man who is totally connected with God the Father and empowered by the Holy
Spirit to understand the mystery of the human souls. The sinners, tax
collectors, prostitutes and all the broken people all flock to Jesus because he
just have this amazing ability to love and care for them.
When we begin to have
the mind of Christ, when we start to know and experience the love of God, I
believe that’s when we start to care for people for who they are, and not
because they are one of our targets, or worst the potential victim of our
evangelistic effort. A potential trophy that you go back to tell your friend
about. There's something that happen when you just genuinely love and care for
people.
Uncle Henry
Sunday, 22 Apr 12
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