Tag: A Word for Wednesday

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The World Needs You

[As a Salvation Army in Central Ohio board member, I once again have had the honor of writing a letter to be distributed at this year’s Christmas Cheer program. Through this annual event, over 6,000 Central Ohio families will receive groceries and toys to celebrate the Season. Merry Christmas! ]

What a year this has been! For many of us, 2022 has marked at least the beginning of a return to normal from a global pandemic. We are socializing more and distancing less, commuting more and telecommuting less, and smiles radiate again, reemerging from behind the confines of our masks. Freedom feels good together, for among the many things we will ultimately learn from the recent worldwide health crisis, one in particular stands out: people need people—we are made to engage with each other in meaningful and supportive ways.

For well over 100 years, the mission of The Salvation Army (TSA) has been “to preach the gospel [good news] of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” Under TSA’s banner, people serve people every day through food pantries, housing assistance, learning centers, anti-human-trafficking measures, Bible studies and church services. God cares about every facet of our being—body, mind, and spirit—and He ministers through His people to others every day.

Yet The Salvation Army is just one organizational means through which God blesses His people whom He loves. The fact of the matter is, no one person or organization can even come close to meeting every human need in the world. Then again, no single individual or group has to, for that is not how God works. Rather, God works through His people everywhere, for each of us has our own relationships and our own gifts, and we are uniquely suited to serve God by blessing others wherever and however He calls us to serve them. Every believer can thrive in the knowledge that God “created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”1

Sometimes we receive, and sometimes we give. Sometimes we are served, and sometimes we serve. So, be the gift you are designed to be. The world needs you.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Rejoice! Christ has come.

Written by Paul Nordman
Advisory board member of The Salvation Army, Columbus Area Services and author of two books—Christ in Me and Working in Us What Is Pleasing to Him

1 Ephesians 2:10 NLT

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Irrelevant No More

As I chaired a church committee several years ago, another member good-naturedly dubbed me “Captain Spontaneous.” Anyone who knows me gets the humor, because I am anything but spontaneous. Still today I chuckle about the moniker. We’ve heard a lot of descriptive nicknames throughout the years, haven’t we? Some are harsh and some hysterical; some we’ve given and others we’ve earned. But the sobriquet I personally find most troubling is that reserved for the very last college football player selected in the annual NFL draft: they call him, “Mr. Irrelevant.” To be considered so insignificant as not to matter—except to be publicly recognized as the one not mattering—that is tough. Yet I suspect many among us go through life questioning their relevance or believing themselves to possess little of it.

God sees things differently than we do. Declared Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”1 Moreover, the church of Christ itself is living proof of His redemptive and transforming power. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”2 Not only does God choose His own from the “irrelevant” among us, He does so for an eternally relevant purpose—to expose the shallow ways of the world and to display His wisdom, compassion and power. This is how, for instance, the poor woman who gave everything she had—two small coins—into the temple treasury3 lives on in Scripture as a picture of humility, devotion, and faith. Irrelevant? Hardly.

Society will always define its populace according to its arbitrary and capricious ways; we cannot change this. Yet we need not despair, for God wills to rescue us, redeem us, and raise us to a place far above worldly relevance. “Humble yourselves before the Lord,” writes James, “and he will lift you up in honor.”4 Look up, Mr. Irrelevant, for the last shall be first.5

Father, how amazing is Your love for us. You remember those rejected by the world, and You seek them to be Your own. Use us for Your purposes, that our lives would display Your eternal glory. In Christ we pray, Amen.

1 1 Samuel 16:7
2 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
3 Luke 21:4
4 James 4:10 NLT
5 Matthew 20:16

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Testimony: The Light Shines

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. Psalm 66:16 ESV

“It’s hard to be an atheist,” our friend reflected aloud. She spoke from experience, as for many years her worldview precluded that which could not be perceived through natural senses. Over time, however, she opened herself to the possibility that God existed, and ultimately to God himself. Without Him, she told us, “There isn’t an almighty power to hold you in whatever situation, and there tends to be more bitterness and resentment. There’s the feeling of ‘I am going through this struggle by myself.’ It’s hard.” Reflecting further she added, “Atheism didn’t help me become the better person that I wanted to become. On my own, I wouldn’t have become as caring or kind to people.” But life with God? “I’m more grateful for everything. I’ve found more peace and joy, and it is easier to make more generous assumptions about other people and to care more about them.”

Oh, the wonders God works in our soul! He is real, deliberate, and relational, and He pursues us in love. Many years before Jesus’ birth, God foretold of the servant-Messiah who would come in great power, authority, and righteousness: “I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.”1 Yet His power would be so great that He could live among us and draw us to Himself in perfect patience and gentleness. “He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break . . . He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on the earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”2 This servant-Messiah’s mission would be one of compassion and care, of healing and wholeness, and of life and love. Of Him God said, “I will . . . make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles to open the eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”3

Indeed He does. For the servant-Messiah has come, and He comes to us still today—opening our eyes to Himself, freeing us from futility, and delivering us from oppression. If He has brought light into your darkness, you, too, have a story to tell. And if oppression rises up against you today, you have this truth to hold: ”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” 4

Father, life here can be so difficult, but You are light. Open our eyes today; set us free today; shine Your truth into our soul today. We need You and we trust You; You are good. In Christ we pray, Amen.

1 Isaiah 42:1
2 Isaiah 42:2-4
3 Isaiah 42:6-7
4 John 1:5