After the Storm

I watched with many of you a few weeks ago as the winds and rain from Hurricane Harvey adversely affected the citizens of the Gulf coast.  I listened to the stories of how it affected people in general in that region and how it affected specific people who knew the loss of loved ones, homes, businesses, and such.    I have a keen interest in that region of our country because I have friends and family there including three grandchildren.    In recent days, I have watched the wind and rain from Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Irma pommel Florida and other states after having brought havoc to the Caribbean.      

In these days, I have thought about an encounter I had with a person in a church that I had the privilege to serve.  I will call him Al.  Al and I were talking about a member of our congregation who was preparing to have heart by-pass surgery.   It was a new procedure at the time and was not offered at any hospital in the Carolinas, so Verne (as I will call the prospective patient) was having the heart by-pass surgery in city hundreds of miles away.   Al suggested to me that as the pastor he thought the church should pay for me to travel to be with the heart patient and his family for the procedure.  After sharing that hope, Al made this statement: “Randy, their crisis is our opportunity as a church to be of ministry to them.”

That statement of Al long ago is being re-played in my head in these days.   While devastating effects of hurricanes may be out of sight for many of you reading this, it is a reality for our neighbors in other regions of this country and world.   Pray for them, and as you are able open your hearts to help them through your gifts through a charity you believe in and trust.    In II Corinthians 8, the apostle Paul points out the example of the churches of Macedonia in their generosity.    Paul was receiving a special offering to help the Mother church of Christianity, the Church of Jerusalem, who was facing some real challenges as the people on the Gulf coast are facing challenges now.  Read what Paul writes about the Macedonian churches in II Corinthians 8:

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. ² In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. ³ For I testify that they gave as much as they were able,and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴ they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. ⁵ And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. ⁶ So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. ⁷ But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you^[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

 As Al told me long ago, their crisis is our opportunity to be of ministry.  Go and do likewise.      Have a joy-filled week. -  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, I pray for all those who know the effects of natural disaster.   Open not only my eyes and heart to see their need, but open my hand to help; through Christ our Lord. Amen.