Pastor's Weekly Word

When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. (Matthew 25:35)

Twenty years ago I attended an interfaith conference of Christians and Jews down along the Frio River in the Texas Hill Country. Part of the conference involved a discussion about impressions we each had of the other. We each had wonderful things to share about one another, but I will never forget one comment that was made. “The thing that has always impressed me,” she began, “is that Christians are people who build houses for those who don’t have shelter. You give clothes to those who have none. You bring food to the ones who are hungry because Jesus told you to do as much. Please don’t ever stop.” In one fell swoop, it seemed that she summed up the mission of a Christian, to do for others what they are unable to do for themselves.

Even though computers and television were able to get us thinking worldwide back then, I still would have not been able to grasp the magnitude of how a single congregation can reach out across the planet like we can today. Canyon Creek, for example, works with a group doing mission in Malawi, Africa called Villages in Partnership. When there is a new need, we can forward an email to our church right away. Then, within a matter of weeks, they can send us a video of the difference our efforts have made. Here is a video of one such need and the result from our response.

"Please don't ever stop," the young lady said. Her words still ring in my ears, just as clearly as the words of Jesus Christ himself, "When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat." The mission is the same, the world keeps getting smaller, and no, we won't ever stop.