A Fresh Perspective - 02/07/09
When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi he was in prison. Yet he was still able to share the gospel of Christ with the imperial guard. He told the Philippians that many of the brothers and sisters in Christ were empowered to share their faith “with greater boldness and without fear” due to his imprisonment (1:12-14). Paul was able to adopt a large view of God’s kingdom that enabled him to persevere and remain steadfast in his trials.
A colleague in ministry tells about visiting a church member one Sunday morning who was fighting a tough battle with cancer. The doctors had tried a new chemotherapy that had wiped her out, and she was just coming out of it. She greeted her pastor with a smile. She said, “Guess what I have begun to do? I have decided that since I am stuck in this hospital room I will pray for all who come in. I have been asking everyone what I can pray for in their life.”
As the pastor stood by her bed, she read off a litany of people and their needs that she was praying for. Before he left, she prayed for him and the worship service that morning. She was not chained to a Roman guard, but she was chained to medicine and a hospital room. And yet she was able to look beyond her own pain and adopt a larger view of the kingdom of God. Her kingdom focus gave her the inner strength she needed to cope with her own suffering.
If all we can do in our suffering is think about how our circumstances affect our own wants and plans, it is likely that we will be fretful, fearful people, weighed down with anxiety and bitterness. But if we can nurture a long and wide view, if we can expand our vision to include the kingdom of God, if we can somehow embrace the pain of others as well as our own pain, there is the real possibility that we can find the strength, courage, faith, and hope we need for the journey.
In honor of the life of David Jackson, educator, coach, preacher, and especially friend and advocate of the poor and oppressed, we announce David’s 50 Project. Immanuel Baptist Church is seeking to raise $50,000 to build a maternity clinic in Zambia. This will save lives and revolutionize an impoverished community. If you would like to contribute to this project, designate checks made out to Immanuel Baptist Church for “David’s 50.” All money goes directly to the building of the clinic.