May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
The world tells us that we should want life to be easy - to live in a nice place, in a nice house, drive a nice car, not have to worry about money. In essence, that we should be lukewarm. But that is not what God wants for us. It means nothing to have good intentions if nothing comes from them. We see ads on TV to sponsor children in poor countries and we think about how sad it is that children are dying. But what good is it to feel bad about it if the children continue to die? Sometimes is seems such a lofty goal to want to change the world - a task too big to be accomplished by one person. But that's the thing. One person can make a difference. And we are never really alone in our efforts. God promises that he will hear our prayers and answer them. (A good example of this is 'now a major motion picture' - if you haven't yet, go see Amazing Grace. It is an amazing movie.)
"And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us." 1 John 3:22-23
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
When we do not receive it is because "because (we) ask with wrong motives" (James 4:3) or maybe because we "have not asked" at all (John 16:24).
So I second the sentiment in the blessing above. May we ask God to help us NOT to be lukewarm, and let's ask for his help to make the difference we want to see in the world.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
The world tells us that we should want life to be easy - to live in a nice place, in a nice house, drive a nice car, not have to worry about money. In essence, that we should be lukewarm. But that is not what God wants for us. It means nothing to have good intentions if nothing comes from them. We see ads on TV to sponsor children in poor countries and we think about how sad it is that children are dying. But what good is it to feel bad about it if the children continue to die? Sometimes is seems such a lofty goal to want to change the world - a task too big to be accomplished by one person. But that's the thing. One person can make a difference. And we are never really alone in our efforts. God promises that he will hear our prayers and answer them. (A good example of this is 'now a major motion picture' - if you haven't yet, go see Amazing Grace. It is an amazing movie.)
"And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us." 1 John 3:22-23
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
When we do not receive it is because "because (we) ask with wrong motives" (James 4:3) or maybe because we "have not asked" at all (John 16:24).
So I second the sentiment in the blessing above. May we ask God to help us NOT to be lukewarm, and let's ask for his help to make the difference we want to see in the world.
