People Need Hope
Mirroring Jesus’ Compassion and Love
Yesterday, I sat on the phone for over an hour with a brother who has endured the roughest year of his life. He has suffered tumultuous marriage problems, fights a daily war to make ends meet, works two jobs and sometimes on weekends works a side gig. His kids are growing up, working out their faith in the midst of family stress and struggling. As he’s growing older he’s found out about some health concerns that could be serious, all the while worrying about his parents who are growing older and dealing with the problems that brings. His plate is full. He is tired. He is under significant stress. His spiritual life is not going as good as he would like. Middle age certainly did not turn out as planned. The thought about giving up crosses his mind — but he knows he can’t.
What I have just described is only one Christian family. They’re not alone. This weekend as you gather for worship, look around your congregation. You’ll see single moms raising kids who just want their family back — and their mom is doing all she can to hold things together. You’ll see a sister sitting behind you, diagnosed with advanced cancer, dealing day in and day out with the ravages of radiation and chemo. You’ll look another way and see two parents wondering how to help their teenage children through the difficult transition into adulthood and remain faithful to God. Another set of parents with a teen are holding back the tears as their son has decided to give up on God and walk away — fighting and arguing with them all the way to the service. In the back of the congregation is a widow or widower wondering how they are going to survive another day alone, separated from the one they gave their heart to. And finally, another brother who is approaching the winter of his life — alone — after his decades-long marriage ended in divorce.
And it’s not just members of your local congregation. If you’re so blessed, as we are at Cornerstone, we often have 20-30 guests who visit our services every week. And they come to us dealing with and coping with life. Their lives are just like all the rest of us sitting in those pews — broken. Many have struggling marriages, wayward children, addiction issues, emotional pain, and scars from other church experiences. They come to us looking for help. They come to us looking for hope. They come to us seeking a message that will help them get through. It’s why some who have come to place membership with us are driving 90 minutes each way to be with us, others driving an average of 45.
Our shepherds, ministers, and caring teachers are busy serving and modeling the spirit of Christ. We champion the Biblical idea of coming along side, as Jesus does, and sharing the gospel (the best news ever told), listening, investing time, even weeping with, all the while pointing them to the ultimate source of hope - Jesus. Over and over we hear from our guests that they can feel the difference when they walk in the door. It’s why many of them keep coming, it’s why people from the world are being baptized into Christ. Over the years, I can tell you of some absolutely amazing stories of transformation of people who came to be a part of our spiritual family. They are learning and growing. To God be the glory.
When you are beat down by Satan and the world, the last thing you need is to come into a church service and get another beat down, guilted into action, and told to do more. People need hope. They need to be built up. Encouraged. Loved. Cared for. Held up and supported. And we need to wake up. Millennials and the Gen Z crowd are walking away from the church in droves. There is not just one reason for their exodus, but could one of them be the sterile atmosphere, rigidness, and outright arrogance in the way we look at others who disagree religiously (in and out of the church)? They need to know we care. We need to be listening to their concerns, making thoughtful answers to their heartfelt questions, and involving them as much as we can. They need to know they matter and that their feelings (whether we agree with them or not) are real.
But you don’t care about obedience, … we hear. And to this, I say, read back through what I’ve written again in this post. The brother I spoke to yesterday? He loves God. He wants to do what’s right. He is doing right. He just needs to know and feel there are people who’ve got his back and he’s not alone as he tries to serve God while managing the biggest crisis he’s ever faced in life. All those other Christians sitting in the pews next to you this weekend? They all care about obeying God (It’s why they’re sitting in church.) It’s why they persevering. It’s why they’re allowing God to work in them, Philippians 2.13. They need to hear a message of hope and encouragement.
We need to be aware of Jesus’ teaching to a certain group of religious people who tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. They do everything to be seen by others, Matthew 23.4-5a. That passage does have an application for today. We have not been called to be judges. We, as disciples of Jesus mirror compassion, hope, and love.
In many places the churches of Christ are dying. Many congregations are a shell of what they were 15 years ago. The way back begins with giving people hope.