The Hands and Feet of Jesus

This morning, my husband preached on Jeremiah 29:4-7 and a time when the Israelites were in exile in Babylon.

In Jeremiah 29:4-7 it says: 4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (NIV)

God had always rescued the Israelites in the past, but He had a different plan for them this time. In his sermon, Jacob pointed out that Babylon was synonymous with Hell for the Israelites, a place where they felt separated from God. Yet they were told to settle down, build houses, plant roots, and live life. The Israelites felt separated from God, but they were called to thrive in Babylon where they felt unwelcome, oppressed, and disrespected. The Israelites had to relearn their religion in a way that was hostile to their way of life.
As I listened to this passage and the beginning of the sermon this morning, a question occurred to me: How does this experience compare to the many refugees who have settled here?

In the past, Christians and Christianity influenced almost everything int he United States - schools, hospitals, charities, etc. Slowly this became less and less common, and the government and outside agencies became more involved. Churches started to redirect their efforts and funding elsewhere - usually back into themselves. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who don't focus on what's going on outside their church walls, but instead on how they can grow within. They've forgotten that the church isn't the building, the pews, the music style, or how cool the youth group games are. Are we, as Christians, seeking prosperity in the US, or are we waiting to be rescued?

Jacob and I chose to accept the call to Willmar, MN for many reasons, but one important one was the multicultural area. There are many hispanic immigrants and Somali muslim refugees. Jacob and I want to settle in, plant roots, and build a life being the church to those people, these minorities. Many of them are displaced in an area, even country, where they never imagined living. Somehow they have to adapt to a place where the majority of people look down on them and distrust them, a place that is hostile towards their way of life. As Christians, we should be the last people who are being unwelcoming, disrespectful, or unkind. That is the exact opposite of being the hands and feet of Christ, the salt and light to the world. In fact, it reminds me of the way the Israelites were treated by the Babylonians while they were in exile.

Yesterday our church held an event. We had games, food, crafts, bible stories, and even a pie eating contest. The event was advertised around the community, and the majority of people who came were not members, or even regular attendees, of our church. The whole point of the festival was to reach people. Members of our church worked hard on the hottest Saturday (so far) of the summer to serve people they hadn't ever met. People from a variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions. It was great.

Members of our congregation have volunteered to teach English to refugees, and they made no secret about the fact that they were Christians, that in fact that was one of the reasons they wanted to help.

Our church basement houses a mission organization so that groups who come in have a place to stay and eat while they are in town helping and working alongside people.

Being the hands and feet of Jesus doesn't mean that you're preaching and converting wherever you go. It means you're living in such a way that you're spreading God's love, helping people, serving however you can even if it's people who live life differently, who have a different faith, who feel unwelcome, afraid, or oppressed.

How you reach out to them doesn't matter, but sitting in the safety of your church walls, padded pews, with good music and awesome youth group games isn't going to do it. God didn't send Moses or Jonah because they were outgoing and wanted to go. They were uncomfortable, scared, thought other people would be better. They fought as hard as they could, but they still went. God still used them. And if we're willing to be uncomfortable, scared, and trust completely in Him, He'll use us too.