“Why does God hate me?”

Sam sat with his head in his hands, sobbing. His life was a mess, piled up 10 feet high in his front yard, after the flash flood in South Carolina rushed into his home. A few days before, his life seemed fine; now he was broken, and there was no insurance to put the pieces back together.

Josh put his hand on his shoulder and wept with him. He was part of the South Carolina Baptist Disaster Relief team of volunteers and a member of a church across town that began mobilizing people in the midst of the storm. Josh was not the only one. The Church was deployed in all corners of the city — meeting needs, caring, loving those in the midst of crisis, and listening to their stories.

Stories of hope and rescue flooded the news. People felt compelled to take days off from work in order to go to a neighborhood close by. The Church flooded the streets and began to help those in need. One Christian plumber gathered 30 of his employees and paid them to assist in an affected area.

Grills opened up, frowns turned to smiles, and the neighborhood was alive despite the wreckage that lay in each man’s yard. Neighbors who hadn’t talked to one another in years shared stories of struggle and survival. The Church was seen all around — caring for people, circling up to pray, and sharing the joy and hope of Jesus. People were investing in the souls of mankind — which will last for eternity — rather than in possessions for their own personal pleasure.

Wouldn’t it be great if, in a few months, things didn’t get back to normal?

What if we came out of our homes and began to have conversations with our neighbors? What if we quit pretending that others’ lives weren’t a mess and looked for ways to care for them and share the hope of Jesus? What if, when we gathered on Sunday, we were more concerned with raising money for those in need than with renovations to our building? What if loud music and a solid message were no longer the metric for a good Sunday? What if Sunday was a time of celebration of how God used us this past week to love others?

What would happen if the Church treated their community like a disaster area every week and looked for ways to serve and share with those needing to be rescued?

A flood has a way of moving the Church from the sanctuary to the streets.

Don’t go back to normal.

Invest in the souls of mankind. Then tell them the truth: Jesus loves them to death.

— If you struggle with sharing Jesus with someone close to you, consider reading “Close Encounters” by Lee Clamp, available at CourierPublishing.com.