What is most important to me about my church?
What is one thing I would change?
This January, as part of our Stewardship worship series Greater Than, we are taking time in each worship service to ask you one question that will help our leadership team continue to chart a path forward as a church in 2022. Your feedback on these questions is critical as we create a community for worship, spiritual formation, and missions that reaches many people. If you haven’t yet submitted your thoughts, please email your response to leadpastor@umcmadison.org so that I can share them with the Church Council in our upcoming meetings this spring. The question above is the one we asked from this Sunday.
Friday Devotional
“Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people, it is impossible. But not with God. With God, all things are possible.”
Mark 10:27
Last week in worship, we talked about learning to shift our mindsets from scarcity to abundance.
So often, we are so focused on what we don’t have,
That we forget to see what we do have.
The rich man that Jesus is speaking to in this passage lived out of a scarcity mindset, despite the fact that compared to everyone else around him, he had quite a lot. Jesus invited him to consider sharing his abundant gifts with others, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t see beyond what he wouldn’t have if he did what Jesus asked him to. He couldn’t see that perhaps, in giving his treasure away, he might find something far greater instead.
When we can’t see our abundance for what it is: Things God has given us to bless others with – we stop seeing the possibilities for what might happen if we use it that way. We lose our imaginations for how God might return the blessing. We become so fearful that once it’s gone… it’s gone and we just stop doing anything at all. Instead of moving forward in faith, we stand still. Instead of taking a chance or doing something different, we do everything exactly the same. And usually, our lives are as dissatisfied with this poor rich man.
When we live in fear, resign ourselves to the status quo, and can’t see the possibilities any longer, we stop seizing opportunities that just might lead us to find the joy, direction, hope, or growth that we are all looking for. We miss out on ways that God wants to increase our abundance, satisfaction in this life, and sense of holy purpose.
As human beings, it is tempting for us to focus on all of the things that just don’t seem possible in this life. It is easy for us to fear that once we’ve given away our abundance, there will be nothing left. But God promises that we will experience the abundance of God when we give our lives away. And Jesus reminds us that even when that message may seem impossible for us to understand or live out, nothing is impossible with God.
Amen.
