Marriage is "Dynamic, Not Static"

Holly Hinshelwood, a friend who served with me this summer, let me borrow a book entitled "Let Me Be A Woman" by Elizabeth Elliot which was written to her only daughter as a wedding gift.  It holds great wisdom and has been timely truth as Ron and I navigate the waters of our first year of marriage.  I was reading this morning and the following passage really hit home so I thought I would share it.

"Marriage is a dynamic, not a static relationship.  It gets either better or worse.  As people either grow or deteriorate, relationships between them must grow or deteriorate.  A common explanation offered for marital incompatibility is 'we outgrew each other.' It's been said that if a couple doesn't grow together they grow apart.  But for the couples who have in all seriousness said their vows before God and in the presence of witnesses the possibility of growing apart need not be allowed.  It need never be something which 'happens to' them, as though they were bystanders injured by some force which they were powerless to protect themselves from.  They have willed to love and live together.  They stand, not helpless, but in relation to God, each responsible to fulfill the vows to the other.  Each determines to do the will of God so that together they move toward the 'measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  And, if God is viewed as the apex of a triangle of which they are the two base points, movement towards Him necessarily decreases the distance between them.  Drawing near to God means drawing near to each other, and this means growth and change.  They are being changed into the same image of glory to glory.  There is no such thing as stagnation or that relatively innocent-sounding word 'incompatibility.'
There are tensions.  The strength of the great cathedral lies in the thrust and counterthrust of its buttresses and arches.  Each has its own function and each its peculiar strength.  This is the way I see the dynamics of a good marriage.  It is not strength pitted against weakness.  It is two kinds of strength, each meant to fortify the other in special ways.  It is not weakness for the boat to submit itself to the rules of sailing.  That submission is  her strength.  It is the rules that enable the boat to utilize her full strength, to harness the wind and thus take to herself the wind's strength.  It was not weakness in the Son of God that made him obey the will of the Father.  It was power - the power of His own will to will the Father's will."

Alexandra Gaskins: The Triathlete???

Those who know me know that I don't swim, bike, or run.  In fact I tried swimming when my ankles swelled to the size of grapefruits, got half way down one lane, and decided to switch over to senior water aerobics.  A logical question is "why in the world is someone who doesn't swim, bike, or run doing a triathlon?"  Two simple responses: 1. Someone believing in you is powerful!  I never considered doing a triathlon until Annah Matthews suggested I participate and told me I could do it.  She didn't just say it once.  She said it several times, and I started to believe that she really thought I could be a triathlete.  That was a strong motivator!
2. This is a baby or "sprint" triathlon designed for beginners.  The Rambling Rose is a 250 yard swim, an 8 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run.  And somehow I'm told that this is a baby race.  I'm not gonna lie; any one of these activities - swimming 10 laps, biking 8 miles, and running 2 miles - would seem daunting to me separately, let along put them together back-to-back.  But I figure if I'm ever going to do a triathlon, this is the one to do.
I started training July 18th.  I began by seeing where I was athletically.  I could swim about one lap without stopping, I could run one mile, and I could bike about 2 miles.  With only five weeks to train, I wasn't sure how I was going to complete the race without hyperventilating.  But I have been so encouraged by the endurance gained over the past 4 weeks. 
Several observed motivators:
- Train with a group.  There are a whole host of us training together and we have been each others cheerleaders.  For those who are uber competitive (I can be that person), there is an inner-satisfaction of beating a teammate.
- Have benchmarks.  When I first started running, I tracked the mileage in my car driving down Darwick (main road off of our neighborhood).  Cash Lovell Stables is about a mile down the road, Triad Christian Fellowship Church plant is about a mile and a half down the road, and then the end of Darwick is about two miles.  I started by trying to run to the stables (about died!).  When I reached the stables, I slapped the mailbox in victory.  Gradually I was able to run to Triad Christian Fellowship and slap their mailbox (no damage done...promise). And then finally I was able to run all the way down Darwick and slap the stop sign (happy to stop, thank you.).
- Have a theme song(s).  Is it strange that I have the "Chariots of Fire" theme song, "We Are The Champions," and the "Rocky" theme song playing in my mind when I train?  Well, I do.  And it helps.  And it's fun.
The race is this Sunday.  I don't have a time goal; I just want to complete the race.  Completion will be a great accomplishment for me, especially having a chronic respiratory condition that has been at the forefront of my mind and has kept me sobered throughout the training.
Our tri-coach queen, Annah, posted this verse at the end of one of her emails and I thought it was perfectly fitting.  "Train yourself for Godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." I Timothy 4:7-8  As much as I have enjoyed training for the Rambling Rose (honest!), I hope that I am more zealous for training myself in Godliness.

And the dog came to us...

There have been many exciting events over the last month that I have been slack about posting.  I thought I would work backwards in recounting those events one blog post at a time.  Be patient with me; I don't have a great track record of uber-consistent blog posts.  Hey, it's quality, not quantity, right!? :)

Ron and I have been looking for a dog for quite some time now.  We agreed that we wanted a medium size dog that has some body to its hair.  Some might call that a fluffy dog, but for Ron's sake, we'll just say that we want a dog with full bodied hair.  We were open to getting a dog from the pound or the humane society.  We poured over websites, made dozens of phone calls, even filled out an application complete with references (seriously!?).  But we have had no luck. 

An unexpected turn of events this week may have led us to our newest family member.

I'm training for a triathlon.  I just heard your gasp of surprise.  Yes, it's crazy, but that's another blog post.  On Friday I was running and all of a sudden I heard a dog chasing me from behind.  I looked back and braced myself to be tackled by a fury beast, but this is what I saw instead:

(except picture her running behind me tongue out just as happy as could be)



At first glance it was clear that she was no threat to me, but it quickly became clear she was a threat to her own jolly self.  I was going to keep on running and not pay her much attention, because I didn't want her to follow me, but as I looked back to check on her, I noticed that she was running in the middle of the road.  At one point she was literally stopped on the double yellow lines with cars stopped on both sides.  At that point I decided I better go back and check on her.  Walking back it became obvious that everyone thought I was her horribly irresponsible owner who didn't care to put a collar and leash around her neck.  Despite their stares of judgement I continued towards little lady because I knew she needed a rescuer.  She was a danger to herself.  Unfortunately she had no identification on her, so I made a conscious decision to encourage her to follow me so that she wouldn't be in the road. 

When we got to the house, I rang the doorbell and Ron came to the door just a puzzled as ever.  I never come through the front door, let along ring the doorbell and let alone with a furry (and wet) friend.  When I explained the situation, Ron agreed that we should let her stay with us until we could find her owners.  She grew on us from the beginning with her long scruffy snout and her big black eyes covered by her floppy bangs.  She was playful and sweet, and we were excited to have her with us as long as the LORD saw fit.

A problem quickly arose: what to feed little lady??  What was the closest food I had to dog food?  Honey Nut Cheerios!  Hey, it was the best I could do and she seemed to love them.

Worried about her owners concern, we took pictures of her (and laminated them I might add) and made poster to put up along Darwick Rd.  When Ron went to put up the signs in the neighborhood, he noticed a cardboard sign that said, "Missing Scottish Terrier...Very Old and Deaf...Her name is Maxee...call ###-####."  BINGO!  Ron called the number and sure enough we had Maxee, their Scottish Terrier.  Despite her age and lack of hearing, apparently Maxee is quite the escape artist.  We were glad that she escaped into our hands and that we could now reconcile her with her owners.  But not for a week.

We found Maxee on Friday and her owners went on vacation on Saturday before we could bring them their pooch.  They told us to take her to Cash Lovell Stables and she was to stay in a stall until her owners returned...IN A WEEK.  Wanting to respect their wishes, I put the bone we got her and her stout self in my car and off we went to the stables:

I called Ron on the way to take her and we both were uneasy about our new friend staying in a stall for a week, especially with it being blazin' hot!  We agreed to offer our house for the week if the owners so desired.  When I got to the stables I met up with Cash Lovell of Cash Lovell Stables and told him that we were more than willing to take her back to our house for the week.  He jumped on that idea; apparently he wasn't overly excited about keeping Maxee with him for the week.  He called her owner and with a brief conversation we were headed back home for a week of caring for Maxee.

Even though Maxee has had several "accidents" in our house, gets up at 6:30 am and starts scratching at the bed and wants to get up on the bed with us (we're not quite ready to have someone else's dog all up in the bed with us), we have really fallen for this little lady.  So much so that we decided last night that we would like to get a dog just like Maxee.  Ron searched the web for regional breeders of Scottish Terriers and found one in South Carolina.  We put our name on the waiting list and sent in a deposit.  So it looks like we'll have a little Maxee either late October or around Christmas time (depending on the number of pups in the next litter).  We hope our expected pup is as special as our new friend, Maxee:

On a side note, I couldn't help but reflect on Maxee's oblivion to danger when she left her owners, started chasing me, and then proceeded to stop in the middle of the road.  I couldn't help but think of my own sinful self, so prone to not stay close to my Creator and wander forgetting the safety that comes with staying under His authority.  Thank you, Maxee, for the reminder to cling to my Creator!

Psalm 91:1, 2

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”

Creation is BIG; God is BIGGER; I am small

I've always had a healthy respect for nature.  I love it's beauty and am aware of it's strength.  I believe creation points to a powerful Creator.  With that being said, I wouldn't peg either Ron or me as "outdoors men."  Neither of us would consider camping or hiking an invigorating way to spend down time.  Chalk it up to really enjoying indoor plumbing, electricity, a bed, etc, we tend to enjoy nature from a distance. 

Interesting enough, the last two weekends were spent smack dab in the middle of nature, and I was reminded anew of Psalm 19:

 ¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,
   and the sky above^[a] proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
   and night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words,
   whose voice is not heard.
⁴ Their voice^[b] goes out through all the earth,
   and their words to the end of the world.

Last weekend we were very blessed to be able to go to the beach for a long weekend with Ron's family.  His mom graciously rented an awesome house at Holden Beach, and the whole family gathered together for a fun filled vacation. 

Not having gone to the beach with kids before, I was unaware of all the creative ways to entertain children via sand and suds.  Ron's mom, Linda, was a pro!  She had a whole host of "tools" to engage kids for hours.  One of the most useful tools was the shovel.  Linda planted her chair on a flat area of the beach, drew a large circle in the sand, and then she, Emma (Ron's niece), and Lita (Emma's friend) went to town digging a minipool in the sand.  They dug for a long time, as in "two whole episodes of Dora the Explorer."  Then when their hole was large enough and deep enough, the girls would run to the ocean with their buckets and fill their pool with water.  The prize was being able to flail around in their ocean front pool.  Linda got all kinds of creative making a wall of sand castles around the pool.  Needless to say, I was very impressed with their work. (see image below)

As I looked around and even walked along the beach there was evidence of many more folks who had used the sand for entertainment.  There were giant sand castles, there were big holes, there were words written in the sand, there were foot prints.  As we left the beach, it was obvious that many had enjoyed the water and sand just as we did.

What was interesting to me was what I saw the next day as we came back ready to enjoy the beach.

All the toil of the previous day was laid flat against the ocean tide.  There was absolutely no evidence of the hard work Linda and co. had put into making their pool.  There were no sand castles, no footprints.  Just flat sand.  In that moment I was reminded of just how small human beings are.  Whether making sand castles at the beach to making international business deals, Ecclesiastes reminds us that actions of man are inherently "vain", "futile", "empty", "meaningless", "temporary", "transitory", "fleeting, or "a mere breath" as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death.  The conclusion of it's author:   

Here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
   for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
   including every hidden thing,
   whether it is good or evil.

I'll come back to this powerful conclusion.  First, let me tell you about this weekend.  Ron's boss, Jim, invited his staff to join M.O.R.F. (Men's Outdoor Recreation Fellowship of Mt. Tabor Methodist Church...catchy, I know) on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  For those like me who are uneducated in the world of outdoor adventures, the Virginia Creeper is a 34.3-mile rail-to-recreation trail starting in Abingdon, Va., traveling through Damascus, Va. and ending just past Whitetop Station at the Virginia-North Carolina border.  The trail is divided into two sections: the first a 17 mile stretch from Abingdon to Damascus.  We packed our lunch, drove up to Virginia, rented bikes, and shuttled up to the top of the mountain.  As we took what seemed to be a really long DRIVE up the mountain I started to realize that this inexperienced biker was about to ride the whole distance down that we just drove up.  What in the world!

For the next four hours we cruised down the beautiful 17miles of trail.  We crossed over bridges, rode along a creek, ate lunch at an overlook, and generally enjoyed the beauty of being smack dab in the middle of nature. It occurred to me on mile 13 (roughly) that we were at the mercy of the trail.  We seemed to be in the middle of no-where with no cell phone and no idea of how to get back to our car apart from the trail.  We were surrounded by trees and the creek.  In that moment I felt very small and was reminded that creation is big and God is bigger.

So back to Ecclesiastes.  Since everything "under the sun is meaningless," the author concludes that one should "fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind."  Fear God because He is the omnipotence Creator.  Fear God because He is the one who will ultimately judge both the visible and the hidden.  Judgement points to what is "above the sun," that which is eternal.  Praise God that our judgement has been paid by Jesus, who came "under the sun" that we may be right with the One who made the sun.

And not only fear God, but obey Him knowing that His commandments point to the good order established by the Creator for His creation. 

Hidden...Restless...Wanderer

This week "Shamia" decided to go to Greensboro (If this doesn't make sense, read my previous post).  For one or several of a multitude of reasons she decided Anthony's Plot was not where she wanted to stay.  I wrestled in my heart to know how to respond to her when she called asking me to take her to Greensboro.  "You have other options?"  "Why wouldn't you want to stay in the beautiful community that is Anthony's Plot?"  "Is your Greensboro contact going to let you stay there indefinitely or will you end up in the same situation?"  "Are you going to call when you are homeless again?"  Each internal question was smeared with mixed emotions and motivations.  I couldn't help grapple with the question of whether I did enough. After asking God this question, I was encouraged by the Holy Spirit's confirmation that I (and Anthony's Plot of course) was obedient to care for Shamia during the days that God placed her in Winston-Salem.  She heard the name of Christ and saw His love and compassion displayed very visibly during a time of great need. 

So quickly she came into my life and now so quickly she is seemingly out.  And yet in the aftermath the image of a 21 year old woman who is in many ways hidden, restless, and wandering is seared in my heart.  This whirlwind brought me back to sin.  Not Shamia's sin specifically, but the general effects of sin in this world.

In Genesis 1 & 2 God creates and in His creation we see His character.  In the first two verses we understand Him as a God who will shape, fill, and enlighten.  This will happen fully in Christ who is foreshadowed in verse 3 (check out II Corinthians 4:6).  He creates all things as good; man and woman - created in His image - are very good.  In these opening chapters we see God creating His Kingdom.  God as Creator and King rules in such a way that His creation flourishes.  His intended order allows creation to thrive.  Although man has dominion over the earth, he is still subject to God.  It is when man attempts to be like God through disobedience that we see sin enter the world.  The effects are all encompassing and devastating!  Not only does sin seperate us from our Creator, but (as Tim Keller articulates) it also seperates us from ourselves, each other, and creation. 

In the next chapters of Genesis we quickly see the practical effects of sin:

"So the Lord God banished him (Adam) from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Genesis 3:23, 24

"Cain (who killed his brother Abel) said to the Lord, 'My punishment is more than I can bear.  Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth...'" Genesis 4: 13, 14 

Within the first two human generations, sin drives man from God's presence and results in restless wandering.  And it only gets worse.  By the eleventh chapter of Genesis, God has both destroyed creation (except for pairs of animals and Noah's family) because of the degree of wickedness that existed in man's heart, but also confused languages of peoples and scattered humanity across the face of the earth. 

This is the backdrop of God creating a people unto Himself - a group that was to be set apart, different, holy.  Whereas the effect of sin was that man is hidden, restless, and wandering, now God created a people who are found, have rest, and belong.  In God's Kingdom, His people are to care for one another so that no one among them in is need.  If there is a stranger among them, they are to be taken into their community.  This is the mandate for the church; a witness of being found by God.  Consequently it should grieve us to see a person who is hidden, restless, and wandering (both physically and spiritually).  We should long for them to be seen, known, and find a place of rest.

This of course is accomplished perfectly through Jesus.  He is the great finder of lost sheep and the one who gives rest.  In His family is a sense of belonging and purpose. 

With all this being said, what should my response be to Shamia?  The same as God's response to me.  In the words of the hymnist, Robert Robinson,

3. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

4. O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Shamia physical reality should grieve me (and I should seek to meet her physical needs) but more so it should point me to my spiritual reality.  Apart from Christ, I am hidden, restless, and wandering.  Praise God that I am found and at rest in Him.

Glimpses of God's Sovereignty

With God's ordained hand on all the functions of this universe, it is humbling when He allows you to be in tune with His sovereign hand in the microcosm of your own life.  The past couple of days have proven to be such an experience for me.

My job allows me to spend much time in the community meeting other leaders who are interested in seeing our city flourish.  In the Southside community, there is a coalition that is forming of like-minded folks who want to work together to see the neighborhood thrive.  One of those coalition members is a group called "Anthony's Plot," a missional community invested in Southside.  While I have met with folks from Anthony's Plot for months, I haven't had the opportunity to visit their home until Thursday when they hosted a meeting about creating activities for Southside children and youth during the summer months.  Being a gracious host, Russ showed me around the house mentioning that there were four people currently living in the house and that they kept one bedroom open for neighbors who found themselves without a place to spend the night.  I was briefly humbled by this notion and then quickly consumed with the meeting agenda and then quickly consumed with life beyond the meeting.

The following day was busy with meetings and to-do lists and incoming interns, etc.  The craziness was set to continue into the night with our weekly Friday night softball game.  With a heavy 5:30 pm rain storm, our 6:30 pm game was cancelled.  Ron and I found ourselves with a free night - a great treasure for us.  Ron suggested we go to Macaroni Grill, one of my favorite restaurants.  I was excited to have a leisurely dinner with him and our good friends, the Mocks. 

After dinner Ron glanced behind the restaurant and saw Barnes and Nobles.  Being a book and magazine lover, he suggested we go and peruse the inventory.  On the way to the store I noticed that my friend Rachel B. had called me.  I thought it a little strange as we didn't have plans to hang out and there was really no reason for her to call me.  I called her back before walking in the store, but it went straight to her voicemail.  Leaving a message, I assumed she'd call me back if it was urgent.  We walked into Barnes and Nobles ready to spend some time getting lost in reading when the first person we see is Rachel B.  How ironic! 

When we saw Rachel she was on the phone with another friend of ours and had a woman to her side.  She quickly hung up the phone and introduced us to Shamia (not her real name).  Shamia had approached Rachel in the parking lot asking her if she knew of any churches in the area.  She explained that she did not have anywhere to go tonight.  Her mother in prison, her dad absent, her grandmother who raised her dead, her cousin who was allowing her to stay with her kicking her out, at the age of 21 she found herself homeless.  She had spent several days at The Bethesda Center for Homeless.  Leaving the shelter with a guy who promised to let her live with him and being kicked out of that house because of an angry ex-girlfriend, Shamia found herself with no options.  She couldn't return to The Bethesda Center.  The Salvation Army was full.  She was literally homeless with no place to lay her head that night.

Going into community ministry mode I quickly got on the phone and started making some phone calls.  I called some friends who are intimately connected with the Salvation Army; no answer.  I called The Bethesda Center; an impatient woman confirmed that if Shamia had been asked to leave for 30 days it was because she did not follow protocol and there were no exceptions.  I called The Salvation Army shelter and they confirmed that they were out of beds.  Our options were dwindling and I could tell Shamia was rightly anxious about where she would spend the night.  Suddenly I remembered my tour of Anthony's Plot and Russ's words of setting aside a room for neighbors who have nowhere to spend the night.  I didn't have Russ's number, so I texted another friend who gave it to me.  I called Russ and explained the situation to him.  He got information from Shamia and made several phone calls.  Finally he said he and the rest of his house mates want to come meet with Shamia.  They wanted to share how their house functions and see if she would feel comfortable staying with them.  I think Shamia, Rachel, and I were all in shock.  Could people really be so gracious? 

While waiting for Russ and co. to meet us, Rachel and I had a great time with Shamia.  Rachel told us about the no-tardy dance party at her school that day and how she was learning all these new dances.  Shamia quickly got on my phone and looked up the videos to the songs letting us see the "professionals" bust their moves.  I think our favorite was the "cat daddy."  The basic move imitated rolling yourself in a wheelchair.  You think I'm kidding?  Look it up.  We laughed and laughed about this dance.  Shamia was hungry so we went and got some Chick-fil-a.  By the time she ate and we looked up some more dance videos, the folks from Anthony's Plot arrived.  Rachel and I excused ourselves, and they talked to Shamia.  I didn't hear much of the conversation, but I know they were explaining how their house functions and asked her if she had any questions.  Her one question was if they were safe.  Great question for a single 21 year old woman anticipating the prospect of spending the night with four strangers.  They assured her that they were safe.

The Anthony's Plot folks went off to talk amongst themselves and so Rachel and I joined Shamia.  I could see the relief on her face.  The Anthony's Plot people were gentle and kind and warm; that was obvious.  It was looking like she would be able to stay with them at least for a night.  They came back and offered her an initial week at their house.  They explained that they have a flow to their house and that they would want her to enter that flow.  They started their day with prayer, they ate meals together, they served together, they had different tasks around the house; she was no exception to this flow if she moved in.  With several questions and a gentle hesitant smile, she agreed.  One of the AP guys asked if she was hungry.  When she said yes, he replied by saying, "you will go to bed full tonight."  They said they wanted to not only take care of the obvious physical needs she had, but also help her get connected to organizations and ministries that will help her get on her feet.  They wanted to see her thrive and, for as long as she was part of their house, use her gifts to bless the house and neighborhood.  As the AP folks prepared to leave, I said to Shamia, "Remember that these are Christians, this is the Church, who is caring for you.  These are people who love Jesus."

Both Rachel and I were teary eyed.  So many thoughts and scripture passages flooded my mind as I reviewed the night.  I had to acknowledge my internal wrestling of mistrust and of selfishness versus a deep compassion for Shamia and recognition that God had hand led us to her.  I thought of Matthew 25 where Jesus equated feeding the hungry with doing it unto Him.  I thought of Isaiah 58 where God described genuine religion as one who provides the poor wanderer with shelter and is the rebuilder of broken walls.  I thought of the the Good Samaritan.  But most of all I thought of Jesus who had been compassionate unto death for the sake of a poor hopeless sinner like me.

Morgan and I drove Shamia to retrieve her bags that she had stored at the bus station and a stranger's house.  While she was getting one of her bags, Morgan explained to me that they had been praying for God to bring someone just like Shamia to them.  They so badly wanted to take in neighbors who had no where to go and help them get back on their feet.  Shamia jumped back in the car and we headed to Anthony's Plot.  We arrived and Shamia walked right on in.  She had her own room.  She had people around her who were going to share life with her.  She had a smile on her face.  With a hug and a commitment to keep up with each other, I walked downstairs and prepared to leave.  Russ was on the front porch swinging on their porch swing.  I thanked him for his gracious hospitality.  I told him he and his companions looked a lot like Jesus.  And I left.

What a night and what a gracious God I serve!  Pray for Shamia and for Anthony's Plot.  And pray that God's Kingdom would come in Winston-Salem as it is in heaven.

A Heart for the Poor

I am grateful that God fashions our heart with specific passions.  As Christians, we should all have a general care and concerns for that which God cares and is concerned about.  But it does seem that some people are specifically passionate about one area or another, be it sharing the verbal message of the gospel, discipling the maturing Believer, reaching the nations, the in depth study of God, etc.  For me, I cannot deny that God has fashioned my heart with a specific passion for the poor. 

My heart preceded my theology.  For years I knew my heart bent towards the poor and oppressed, but couldn't really lay out from Scripture why this was important.  God has graciously made that clear throughout the last several years.  

This morning I was reading The Gospel Primer, by Milton Vincent.  This book was a gift from my sweet sister, Rachel, whose friendship continually points me to Jesus.  As I read through various parts of the book, I came across a section entitled, "A Heart for the Poor."  This section was a beautiful encapsulation of the theology of my heart for the poor.

Vincent says:

"Like nothing else could ever do, the gospel instills in me a heart for the downcast, the poverty-stricken, and those in need of physical mercies, especially when such persons are of the household of faith.

When I see persons who are materially poor, I instantly feel a kinship with them, for they are physically what I was spiritually when my heart was closed to Christ.  perhaps some of them are in their condition because of sin, but so was I.  Perhaps they are unkind when I try to help them; but I, too, have been spiteful to God when He has sought to help me.  Perhaps they are thankless and even abuse the kindness I show them, but how many times have I been thankless and used what God has given me to serve selfish ends?

Perhaps a poverty-stricken person will be blessed and changed as a result of some kindness I show him.  If so, God be praised for His grace through me.  but if the person walks away unchanged by my kindness, then I still rejoice over the opportunity to love as God loves.  Perhaps the person will repent with time; but for now, my heart is chastened and made wiser by the tangible depiction of what I myself have done to God on numerous occasions.

The gospel remind me daily of the spiritual poverty into which I was born and also of the staggering generosity of Christ towards me.  Such reminders instill in me both a felt connection to the poor and a desire to show them the same generosity that has been lavished on me.  When ministering to the poor with these motivations, I not only preach the gospel to them through word and deed, but I reenact the gospel to my own benefit as well."

I hope this encourages your heart!