This week is all about being great neighbours, particularly by showing compassion. But what does it look like to show compassion for our neighbours?
Start at the beginning of this series. We started with knowing names, then learning stories as acquaintances. Those two things help us to know the needs of our neighbours. Then we can find ways to help – near or far.
When someone near you has a new baby, we know they’ll be hungry and having a hard time cooking – maybe you can feed them for a day. Or further from home, perhaps you can donate to the food banks at the Salvation Army or St. Paul’s on the Hill in Pickering.
When you walk by a homeless person in a heatwave, they are probably thirsty, perhaps you can offer to buy them a bottle of Gatorade or water. Sit down with them as they drink it. Or further from home, perhaps you can support water well drilling abroad.
When we see someone lonely in a room, standing alone, we can at least introduce ourselves, and help them get acquainted. Or when someone moves to the neighbourhood, welcome them! Further afield, maybe you can volunteer with a local service to immigrants, or an ESL class.
When we know someone can’t afford new clothes that fit, we can share our own, or go on a Value Village spree with them. Or if you have clothes but don’t know who needs them, don’t wait for a garage sale, instead donate them to the Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift shop.
When someone is going through cancer treatment, or another illness, perhaps we can shovel or cut grass. Or if you don’t know someone personally, the Cancer Society always needs volunteers who can drive people to appointments.
Finally, if you know someone in prison, perhaps you can visit them and make it clear you care for them as a human being loved by God. Or if you don’t know someone in that situation, you could support a prison fellowship or another ministry to those who are incarcerated.
Whatever you start with, it’s a part of our calling as followers of Jesus to recognize his beloved creatures in trouble and show compassion.
It’s not about earning some reward – it’s simply part of kingdomliness, which is a reward in and of itself.
Challenge: In yesterday’s exercise, who of these six people in need did you say was hardest and easiest to show compassion for? Plan a practical way to help the needs of both this week – either directly to someone near you, or indirectly as we’ve suggested.
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Hi. Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the daily challenges.
The daily challenges are meant to help us explore what it means to follow Jesus, even in the midst of a busy commuting lifestyle. We have a rhythm that we follow each week to help us explore our topic. We introduce the idea on Monday, then Tuesday’s we study it in the Bible. Wednesday’s we try to let the Bible’s teaching sink in, and change and transform our thinking. Thursday’s we try to act out what we’ve been learning. Friday’s a day for prayer and reflection, and then Saturday’s a day for rest.
Sunday is a day for community, because even when we are scattered and busy, it is important that we come together as one community to explore Jesus and what it means to follow him in one place. That’s why this Fall we’re planning to launch a new worshiping community in Ajax called Redeemer Church. Stay tuned for more information.
We’re in the middle of a series right now called Reset, where we look at how following Jesus resets our thinking about various topics in life. Most have been topics we think about daily, but today we look at how Jesus resets death.
Our culture doesn’t like to talk about death, but it’s what we’ll do today. It’s more important than you might think. George Bernard Shaw once pointed out, 1 out of every 1 people die. This topic is guaranteed to impact your life! CS Lewis pointed out in WWII, war does not increase death rates, death is total in every generation.
Yet, our generation and culture would rather avoid even talking about it, as if that means we can avoid death itself. Add to that our Botox for wrinkles, all our other potions and lotions to stop aging, and you have the picture of a culture that avoids death itself until the last possible moment.
At many funerals, you’ll find people avoid saying anyone died. One Christian minister I know was asked to do a non-Christian service, with the funeral director specifying that the family wants to "write it themselves, without any interference or argument from the priest.") I can only imagine what the family was hoping to avoid.
One of the words in the funeral service I almost say most carefully is that the person (by name) “has died”. Sometimes it feels like I’m the first one to say it, when everyone else is saying “passed on”, “lost”, and even saying “loved one” instead of the person’s name name.
I do that because for those who follow Jesus, death isn’t something to fear so much we pretend it doesn’t happen. It’s not something to keep quiet, but something to acknowledge as having limited power in our lives. I think people need to hear that.
One US study asked Americans if they wanted to read the Bible, and if they did, what they’d like to learn. The largest single topic of interest was that 28% of adults want wisdom from the bible on death and illness, and a surprising 33% of young adults wanted the same. They want to hear how there is hope leading up to, in and after death.
That’s what we’ll do this week. The world keeps saying to fear, avoid, delay, ignore death. Jesus says, it’s okay, you’ll survive if you follow me.
Question: How do you approach death? Is it something to fear, embrace, or somewhere else on the spectrum?
When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again?
The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate.
What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives:
Reset: Goals
Reset: Time
Reset: Money
Reset: Work
Reset: Body & Food
Reset: Sex & Marriage
Reset: Family
Reset: Compassion
Reset: Nature
Reset: Society
Reset: Death
Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.
