Christianity 103: Meet Needs
Luke 9:10-17, 37-43a
God became flesh and entered time and space. We happily articulate this soaring theology. Things get a little earthier when we think about why Jesus came: to bleed and die, to fix our broken relationship with God. We like to talk about that, too.
Jesus also preached and taught, so as to inspire and educate. He opened His mouth and theology came out. We like to talk about what He said. But beyond who He was and what He said, what did He do?
What about His signs and wonders? We like to talk about them. They substantiated His ministry and message, proving His divinity. But something else was going on with them. While showing God’s power, His miracles also expressed God’s love – not in word, but in deed. Here is where we need to add some serious “doing” to our “talking.” We can’t duplicate His miracles, but we can apply what power we do have to help people in crisis (and that just may be a miracle itself).
Jesus calmed a storm to show power over nature. He raised Lazarus and others to show power over death. But through these miracles, He also evidenced concern and care for hurting people. While flexing spiritual muscle in the face of the storm, He was also coming to the aid of His scared and doomed disciples in the boat. While exercising His prerogative to raise the dead, He also showed His heart and burden for people suffocating in grief.
One day Jesus was teaching thousands of people about God’s Kingdom. At the end of the day, the crowd was very hungry. His disciples thought He should send the people away. No one was alleging that people were about to starve to death, but by miraculously feeding everyone, He proved His willingness (and ability) to meet even the most basic of physical needs.
Another time, a desperate father begged Jesus to deliver his son from a demon that gave him seizures. Jesus proved His power over demons by healing the boy. But, further, here was more proof of His shepherding love as He brought relief to the sick and oppressed.
While we wring our hands and wonder if we could ever have the power and faith to make a difference, we waste opportunities to do what we easily can. While we talk about God, let’s make sure we act like Him. Beyond what we say, what should we do? Feed the hungry, help the afflicted, and reach out to the suffering and grieving. This will alleviate real suffering while proving that God cares. That’s some soaring theology, too!
– The ETB writer for the spring quarter is a South Carolinian who formerly served Southern Baptists in a closed country. We are honoring his request not to publish identifying information.