Tension and Revolutionary Love
Most of us don't sign up for tension in our lives. But tension is the way we grow.
Muscles grow only when they have tension. Elastic bands don't do anything unless they are tense. Same deal with the belts in your car (or around your waist). Suspense grows in a movie plot or book plot when there is tension.
Frankly, you're probably only interested in a story line when there is tension.
That's why I love the new series we start this weekend at Connexus: Revolutionary Love. We are going to attempt to be more generous to the poor than we have ever been. In four weeks we are:
- Going to cram an ambulance full of non perishable food and toys
- Try to purchase 1500 mosquito nets to save 1500 African children's lives from Malaria
- Build a health clinic in Guatelmala and bring jeans, socks and underwear to the kids there
- Raise money to pour into the local mission of Connexus for a strong 2009
The issue? We planned this series in the summer, before the economic downturn started and the economy headed south.
The tension? We decided not to downgrade our goals by even $1, believing the community needs love more than ever before.
So we head into this weekend attempting to be the most generous we have been this year while the economy sputters.
What I love about that recipe is I believe it is going to stretch me and stretch our congregation more than we've been stretched in a while.
Think back to the stories you know in scripture: was there ever a story without tension? Ever a time where God grew a person or leader without stretching them.
These is an exciting, dramatic and uncertain time. I think it could be a great opportunity. What do you think?
