Audubon Church

DOING GOOD

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Christians have been challenged since the earliest days of the church to “do good”. While we may be prone to believe that our time is unlike any other in history, the truth is that there is nothing new under the Sun. We, like those before us, are called to take the love of Christ outward into our community and, with His blessing, to the nations. We are told to not grow weary of doing good, to not give up. Such is a timely reminder in the midst of all we see and feel in these days, tensions that purpose to divide, not only neighbors, but brothers and sisters of the faith as well.

I spoke with a dear friend this week who sought counsel on how he could be more effective on social media “for the Lord”, in communicating his views amid the tensions of today. I asked him, “Why would you do that?” I counseled him to stop. Communicating one’s feelings via social media is far from the Biblical teachings of doing good. Post if you must, beloved, but do not give up doing good. Doing good involves loving our neighbor as ourselves in ways that are tangible and real, eye-catching to others amid a culture of much talking. We cannot give up.

As I write this evening, we remain in a global pandemic, we experience racial tensions beyond those experienced in a generation, unemployment has reached Great Depression levels, hatred spews forth from our politics, and local churches seem rocked back upon their heels, still grappling with the effects of COVID-19 restrictions. I wonder how we, beloved Audubon, are doing good in these days? Are we resolutely doing good for our neighbors?

I am a pastor in a local church. I love the local church. I love all that it stands for, the hope that God has placed in it for making His great name known among the nations, and the picture of Christ’ Bride that it represents. I love that the local church is God’s plan for humanity through its presentation of the gospel and its doing good, and that there is not a backup plan. I love that it is in, and through, the local church that theology gets practiced, words become actions, and knowledge becomes love; if we do not grow weary, if we do not give up.

Many will recognize the Dandelion flower and wonder just how many seeds such a thing can cast among a neatly landscaped yard?

I have this image in my mind, really a prayer on my heart, that Audubon would be like the Dandelion flower blown on by a child. Taking the promptings of the Spirit, may we be blown outward from Audubon, doing good wherever the Spirit blows us, just like the wind and Dandelion seeds. I am convinced that our love would be demonstrable, our impact would be great, and many would be drawn to Christ; a harvest to reap in due season.

This is my prayer. I pray it may be so this very day. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory.

Newsletter: July 2020