Bombings in Bangkok
Last night my family stopped by to visit friends for a few minutes around 5pm and we ended up staying for dinner. During the middle of dinner I got an SMS message which I ignored. I generally refuse to be available 24 hrs a day. And so I'll ignore stuff like that when I'm with other people. I figure if it's an emergency, they'll call back. My phone buzzed again 30 minutes later. This time I glanced to see who was calling...since by now it was 8pm. No, this person wouldn't normally be calling on a Sunday night at 8pm. So I picked up.
"There have been seven bombs in Bangkok. You should stay home."
Great. Except that I wasn't at home. So we said goodbye to our friends and headed home. The good news was traffic was light. The bad news is that it was light because people had gone home to avoid the bombs. Two more explosions happened around the city later in the evening. We were all safe in bed.
I wonder, as a Christian, how God wants me to live in light of this latest terrorism. What can I, one person, do here in Bangkok to make it a safer, better place. On Sunday, my sermon was about the power of generosity. I preached from Philippians 4. The letter is a 'thank you' note from Paul to the church in Philippi. He mentions in chapter 4 that their gifts really encouraged and sustained him while he was in Thessalonica. He even says they were the 'only' church that shared with him in giving and receiving.
How would the world be different without that one church giving generously to support the ministry of that one man? Would Paul's ministry have come to an end? Would Christianity have spread throughout the mediterainian region? Imagine the impact of the generosity of that one church? How many people wouldn't know Jesus today - except that the Philippians supported Paul's ministry? How many of us went to schools that were started by Christians? How many of us have been treated at hospitals started by Christians? None of those would exist - except for the gifts of this one church to this one man 2000 years ago. Pretty amazing isn't it.
Perhaps that's why 'generosity' is at the heart of the Christian faith. Of course, it's at the heart of who Christians believe God is. Perhaps the most fundamental conviction of Christians is that "God loved the world so He gave...." (John 3:16)
I think giving generously... of time, money and talent can really change the world. I think that's how God wants me to live in dangerous world. The temptation is to circle the wagons to be safe. But I think those who try to safe themselves loose. That the only way to gain life is to give.
"There have been seven bombs in Bangkok. You should stay home."
Great. Except that I wasn't at home. So we said goodbye to our friends and headed home. The good news was traffic was light. The bad news is that it was light because people had gone home to avoid the bombs. Two more explosions happened around the city later in the evening. We were all safe in bed.
I wonder, as a Christian, how God wants me to live in light of this latest terrorism. What can I, one person, do here in Bangkok to make it a safer, better place. On Sunday, my sermon was about the power of generosity. I preached from Philippians 4. The letter is a 'thank you' note from Paul to the church in Philippi. He mentions in chapter 4 that their gifts really encouraged and sustained him while he was in Thessalonica. He even says they were the 'only' church that shared with him in giving and receiving.
How would the world be different without that one church giving generously to support the ministry of that one man? Would Paul's ministry have come to an end? Would Christianity have spread throughout the mediterainian region? Imagine the impact of the generosity of that one church? How many people wouldn't know Jesus today - except that the Philippians supported Paul's ministry? How many of us went to schools that were started by Christians? How many of us have been treated at hospitals started by Christians? None of those would exist - except for the gifts of this one church to this one man 2000 years ago. Pretty amazing isn't it.
Perhaps that's why 'generosity' is at the heart of the Christian faith. Of course, it's at the heart of who Christians believe God is. Perhaps the most fundamental conviction of Christians is that "God loved the world so He gave...." (John 3:16)
I think giving generously... of time, money and talent can really change the world. I think that's how God wants me to live in dangerous world. The temptation is to circle the wagons to be safe. But I think those who try to safe themselves loose. That the only way to gain life is to give.
