Choose Joy

 Good morning!

 In the work that goes on here at RiverWalk Church in downtown Wichita, we often encounter what some might call the less pleasant aspects of our society.  Those less pleasant things are well-known…homelessness, addictions, violence, hunger, and poverty.  No, we aren’t in a particularly impoverished area.  The office building next door is one of the premier office buildings in the city.  The Drury Broadview is a block away, as is Century II, the Garvey Center, and other well-known places.  RiverFront stadium is only three or so blocks from us.  And Exploration Place and the main library are just across the river.  The river…the Arkansas River, is adjacent to the back of our church lot.  There’s a bridge that takes 1^st Street across the river about 100 feet from our building.

We see the things I’ve described above.  The homeless camp out under the bridge and in nearby parks.  There are ample opportunities for drug deals in secluded places not easily observed.  The hungry and the poor are just outside the door.  And there is violence from time to time…assaults, gunshots, and so on.  We encounter the seamier aspects of society quite regularly, and understand that those things…and the people who are involved in those things…are part of our neighborhood.  Our desire is to interact with our neighborhood in ways that will bring about redemption, regeneration, and wholeness to the neighborhood.  We’ve tried many things, and at times have succeeded in working with one or two or three of our neighbors.  However, as we look, we see so much need and so few resources that we wonder if what we are doing is making any difference at all.

I correspond rather regularly with a friend, Kendra Brookhuis.  Kendra, an author and stay-at-home mom, lives in Milwaukee Wisconsin with her husband and kids in a part of the city that in at least some ways mirrors the downtown Wichita area surrounding RiverWalk Church.  They moved to that area intentionally in an effort to be “salt and light” to a neighborhood that is less than a pleasant place to live at times.  Additionally, the school where her husband teaches and her kids attend is right across the street from their home.

Recently, we exchanged thoughts about the neighborhoods where we find ourselves…she at home and I at work.  We both have times of joy when we’re able to help someone, but we both lament that there is so much unmet need.  Kendra wrote recently and said this about the need she sees and the work of God’s redemption.

“We find ourselves constantly living in the tension of sacrificing for the sake of our block, and knowing we’re only human.  I see things on social media that say ‘Changing the world for one person…changes the world.’  I know deep in my heart to believe this, and yet I also want change for many.  Change faster.  This is where choosing joy over bitterness can be a daily battle for me, but a necessary one.  I want others to see the joy to be found in Christ…at the same time my default is often lament.”

I can relate to Kendra, and I’m guessing some of you can relate as well.  Days, weeks, and sometimes years go by with no noticeable change in “how things are,” even though many, including ourselves, have poured time, resources, and energy into making a difference.  We sometimes take a step back and wonder if we’ve made any headway at all.  And we begin to develop a kind of cynicism and yes, even the beginnings of bitterness, as we look in vain for sprouts of redemption and renewal.

As Kendra said, we have a daily choice to make.  Will we choose the joy of living in the forgiveness and blessings of God, or will we choose to harbor disappointment and bitterness because we can’t do as much as we’d like to do.  You know, it’s really about submission, isn’t it.  Submission to the will of God, living in His glory rather than stacking up successes for ourselves and glorying in how much we are able to do.

I am reminded of how many followers Jesus had when he hung on the cross.  Even Peter betrayed him in his hour of need.  I am also reminded that even after his resurrection, apparently, there were no more than about 120 of the faithful, awaiting him.  Three years he spent teaching, healing, comforting, and revealing himself to the world, and he ended up with the twelve and a few hands full of other followers.

In our lifetime, we may be the instrument of God in the redemption of just a few precious souls.  Not all of us can be successful evangelists.  Not all of us can go on mission to other nations of the earth, teach, and make disciples.  Not all of us can gather a crowd eager to hear the Gospel of Jesus.  But we can choose to live in joy and submission to the God who created us and who loves us and who chooses us to be the salt and light in the places we go and in the hearts of those he chooses to send our way.

Choose joy.  Choose submission.  Choose thanksgiving.  Choose love.

 

Blessings,