Romans 12:1-2, 9-13
So, here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Romans 12:1-2, 9-13 (MSG)
Southwood’s group of young adults spent two incredible weeks in Tanzania this summer. They went completely open to God’s plan, were fully present in everything they did, and took advantage of every opportunity to participate in the local life. Every day I heard someone say that they’d had the best day ever.
The night before we began the long journey home, we met around the hotel fire pit for a final team devotion. The discussion was focused on “What will you take home with you and what will you leave behind from this experience?”.
Their thoughtful reflections on their time in Tanzania and intentions for letting the experience impact their life at home were extraordinary. They were all on fire with passion for loving God, loving others and committed to continuing the partnership with our friends in the Uswaa community and church. Most of them had grown up at Southwood and had been hearing about Tanzania in Sunday School but actually being there and learning about the people and culture made it real. And the experience changed them exactly like it says in the scripture for today, “you’ll be changed from the inside out”. They thought differently about people in Tanzania. They thought differently about themselves.
If you’ve been around Southwood for very long, I hope you’ve heard about the church’s partnerships and commitment to serving others. We hear it often that when someone volunteers at a food distribution or serves a meal at The Gathering Place that they had no idea just how many people need food. They didn’t realize how big the need for health care is until they volunteered at Clinic with a Heart. They drove by Matt Talbot all the time but never knew all the ways they help people in our community. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. Your heart has been broken for the people you served and you begin to notice more ways to help. God lights a fire in our hearts and it compels us to action.
Today is Mission Sunday at Southwood. We are celebrating the hearts on fire to serve others in our church, community and world. Our hope is that you will listen to the scripture and hear the stories of people in our church and feel compelled to action.
Questions for Reflection:
- What will you take home with you and what will you leave behind from your experience at Southwood?
- Is there a way for you to serve others?
- Is there an opportunity to leave behind assumptions or judgements about others?
Prayer:
Lord, today I pray for an open heart to see the ways I can do Your work in the world. Help me be alert to the moments in my day that you are trying to show me how I can help others and to act on them. Make me a better person from the inside out. Amen
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