My mom used to tell me, "Inch by inch, life is a cinch, yard by yard it's very hard." The funny things moms say...
I'm a big picture guy. I see the whole of things and I'm not very good with details. This makes it difficult for me at times because the big picture seems, well, big. In fact, the big picture seems too big. We'll be talking this week about some of the challenges to following what God wants you to do. For me, this is the biggest one of all...the big picture.
The big picture is overwhelming. You see hurt and pain all around you. You see it in your home, your family, your church, your community, on the tele, in your state, in your country, in the world...just to name a few places. Even if I'm willing to serve God, how on earth am I supposed to meet the monstrosity of need that's out there?
Our church staff is holding conversations with our congregation about where they see areas of need in our community. The intriguing thing is how each of the needs fit into some categories...but the overall need is still immense. So how do you do it? How does God do it? This is a little bit of what I feel I'm learning as I see how much the world around me needs reconciled to Christ.
It's done in small ways, by perhaps a lot of people. It's in taking small bites out of a big pie until the pie is eventually gone...not saying we will ever meet all the areas of need around us, but there is much we can do. I'm looking at the big picture and then asking, 'what is it that I can do today?' For example, one of the areas of concern from our Vision nights is helping out single moms. Big picture...overwhelming. But an opportunity may be presenting itself to my wife and I to help out one single mom who's going through a divorce. We're not solving the whole problem, but we're helping one.
So inch by inch it's a cinch...well, maybe it's just more manageable. What about this idea...what about if instead of looking to just a few people to do a majority of the Kingdom work we look to a whole bunch of people to do a little? What do you think would be more effective? I'm grateful that's the direction our church is moving. There's an old saying that says 'We're better together', and I believe there's a lot of truth to it.
What are the one or two things that are small and right before you? What small ways can you make a large impact in someones life as you show on a very real level the love of Christ?
