Luther on Good Works

I am reading Martin Luther's "Treatise on Good Works," again, and am completely blown away, again. He says "The first, highest, and most precious of all good works is faith in Christ, and as it says in John 6:28-29 'This is the good work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.'" Everything that we do in faith, whether big or small, whether noticed or unnoticed, is a good work.

"For such a man there is no distinction in works. he does the great and the imporant as gladly as the small and the unimportant, and vice versa. Moreover, he does them all in a glad, peaceful, and confident heart." "But where there is doubt, he searches within himself for the best thing to do; then a distinction of works arises by which he imagines he may win favor. And yet he goes about it with a heavy heart and great disinclination. He is like a prisoner, more than half in despair, and often makes a fool of himself."

I often find myself doubting whether I should do this or that, worrying which work will make the biggest impact. A person of faith doesn't sit around deciding, planning and worrying about how his actions will appear. He does whatever is needed in faith "A Christian man living in this faith has no need of a teacher of good works, but he does whatever the ocasion calls for, and all is done well."

looking after someone else's interests

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:4 NIV)

I dream about all the great things I can do for God. Maybe the best thing we can usually do is to simply be be there for someone else, to be there day in and day out no matter what. Far too many of the people I meet have no one who will be there when they need it. I can forget about all the great things I could do if I'm not doing this one thing for my family, my friends, my community.

How far are we from compassion?

In order to continue Jesus' ministry here on earth, we must have the same kind of compassion that he had for people. I believe that we fall short of true compassion because of many reasons. I would say that the stages of compassion are as follows.

1. SYMPATHY - The act or power of sharing the feelings of another. A feeling or an expression of pity or sorrow for the distress of another; compassion or commiseration. Sympathy says in words: "It would be tough to be in that person's shoes."

We can't truly sympathize with our community unless we take the time to observe, interact and learn what people are dealing with. At the very least, we should be able to state what struggles people in our community face in order to get through the day. Most of the time we can't even articulate this due to the fact that we haven't taken the time to learn. Judgment, busyness and self-interest keep us from reaching even this stage.

2. EMPATHY - Direct identification with, understanding of, and vicarious experience of another person's situation, feelings, and motives. Empathy says; "I have imagined what it must be like in that man'’s shoes, and what I'd want someone to do for me if I were in that condition." Empathy = your pain in my heart
Luke 19:41-44, Isaiah 53:3-5

To have empathy for those in our community, we actually have to build a relationship with them. We have to care enough about them as individuals that we begin to feel what they feel. We begin to picture ourselves walking in their shoes and ask what what can be done about their problems. Empathy is difficult, especially when we see ourselves as outside of the community or we haven't built a relationship with the individual. We may have pity on them, but don't really internalize their pain.

3. COMPASSION - Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
Matthew 9:36, Luke 6:31, Luke 4:18-19

Christ truly had such compassion that he died in our place. Compassion burns in our gut and won't let us go until we do something about the situation. We can relieve the pain, remedy the situation or at least support the individual in their struggle. For the community, we focus our resources and energy on not only solving a problem or alleviating suffering, but empowering others to meet their own needs, both individually and collectively. Compassion should move us to rally the troops in order to meet the real and felt needs of those that God calls our neighbors (luke 10:29).

managing growth?

As our ministry grows, I'm finding myself with more and more things to do. I read that an organization will only grow to the point where the leader feels comfortable with his/her ability to manage. I often find myself going into a reactionary mode that is based on fear. Fear that we're out of control, fear that we don't have a handle on things, fear that we'll go broke, etc.. My biggest challenge so far has been to implement a strategy that will help us get to a new level of growth without stifling our ministries. Every fiber in my being hates planning, I would much rather fly the the seat of my pants. That strategy gets me to a certain point, and then my pants begin to rip because they're pulled in different directions (nobody really wants to visualize that scenario, do they?)

I truly believe in a movement of the Holy Spirit across our city that is unmanageable (book of Acts kind of stuff.) I also believe that we could get in the way of that movement, either by lack of planning, overly ridgid planning, lack of adequate management or over-management. Is it possible to have managed growth, planned growth and miraculous growth all at the same time? Is the Holy Spirit confined to our planning and management skills? He certainly isn't confined to my vision and leadership.
When I look at those who are coming to faith through our churches, when I hear their stories, when I get to know their families and backgrounds I realize that all of those individuals are a result of Gospel-driven relationships. How do we continue to honor those relationships? How do we make it possible for more of these relationships to develop?

I pray that my main ministry would be that of empowering others to be used by God for His ministry of reconciliation. That's gonna take more dreaded planning. My focus must also remain on our vision while being realistic about our current reality. 100 mission groups in 5 years? I have no idea how to make that happen or how to manage it when it does. Thank God He's in control and not me.