All the people! I am writing, sitting in an airport terminal, watching all the people. Short people, tall people, young people, old people, brown people, and white people. I see people who are wearing New York Yankee hats, people with turbans wrapped around their heads, and people wearing scarves with only their eyes showing. I see people painted with tattoos, people with Mennonite head coverings, people in wheelchairs, and children who can’t hold still. I hear different languages; some I recognize and some I don’t. I encounter smiling people, sad people, impatient people, talkative people, and aloof people.
My mind begins to wander—where are they all coming from and where are they going? What are their stories? What, or who, has shaped all these people into the lives they are living?
“Everything runs at the speed of trust.”
It’s November, but already there are of hints of Christmas in the airport decorations. My mind wanders to the incredible announcement the angel of the Lord shared one night with a group of shepherds outside of Bethlehem in Luke: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10b-11 NIV).
Do I really believe that a savior being born, the Christ, is good news of great joy for all the people I am observing? How will they know the good news unless someone tells them? Will they encounter joy and good news from me, a “Spirit-deposited person” who follows Jesus? A several-hour airport layover has given me much to ponder.
There is a cohort of Rosedale Network pastors meeting regularly to learn together about church mobilization and starting new churches. In a recent cohort meeting, the statement was made that “Everything runs at the speed of trust.” This statement has been a sharp tack for me—it keeps poking. Do we, as the people of Rosedale Network, trust that the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for all the people? If so, how is our trust in the gospel impacting all the people?
One of the core commitments of Rosedale Network is urgency. Why? Because people are hungry for God (Isa. 55:1-2), people are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36), many are lost and dying, and millions have no access to the good news (Matt. 9:37-38), and Jesus is coming soon (Rev. 22:12). I invite all of us in these weeks leading to Christmas to have the posture of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and ponder these things in our hearts (Luke 2:19). How is God calling all of us to participate in proclaiming “good news of great joy” with all the people?
Photo credit: Darren Peachey, RNOC
One Response
Thanks Darren for those interesting thoughts. Yes I have a good friend in Lewistown who as a person did a lot of good deeds in his lifetime but that doesn’t give him the assurance that he needs for the end of life. Pray for Al .