"shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain." -Philippians 2:15b-16
I heard a fantastic illustration of what reaching the world for the gospel of Christ might look like. Below is a paraphrased story from Pastor Perry Noble (New Spring Church).
He'd been having trouble sleeping for a couple weeks, and after a few friends told him that the problem was likely his mattress, he broke down and splurged on one of those really nice Tempur-Pedic mattresses, his wife then bought really soft, high-thread count sheets to put on, and one night they climbed into bed pulling the heavy, down comforter up so that only their nose and eyes were exposed. They keep their bedroom really cold, but snuggling under the covers on top of the new bed and new sheets was the greatest. Their four year old daughter had been sick that week, so when they put her to bed, they told her that if she needed anything, to just call. Well sure enough, not long after they had climbed into the comfort and warmth of their new bed, they heard a faint moan coming from her room. Despite having to abandon the warmth, they both sprung out of bed to go tend to their daughter....
because you don't ignore someone who is in pain and needs help just because it means you're going to have to leave comfort behind.
I thought that was a powerful picture. Maybe we need to get out from under the comforter and go reach people where they are.
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