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“Love is mutual dependency and mutual giving…God made us to be dependent on him and on each other…We are to create communities characterized by the statement, “”I don’t know what I would have done without you””
As I read today’s devotion, these were the phrases that spoke to me. During today’s message, Delton talked about risk, about challenge, about faith. Point of Grace took a risk – we committed to providing Thanksgiving dinner for 35 families in our community. Out of God’s abundance to us, we committed to giving back to families in our community. We stepped out in faith, trusting that God will provide for these families through us, his Church. As I reflect upon these last couple of weeks – I see mutual dependency and mutual giving. We depend upon our Father and upon our brothers and sisters in Christ in order to provide a riverbed to these families. This is a challenge – the time, talents and treasure of many, many different people will be needed to make this a “mutual giving” from our church to these families.
I have had the privilege of working with the caring and compassionate social workers at our three local high schools – they have helped us direct the flow of our riverbed to 27 families who are in need of a Thanksgiving meal and Christmas gifts. I don’t know what we would have done without them!
When we asked for volunteers to create a Gifts of Grace team – 7 beautiful ladies stepped up and have been working closely with each other, with me and with others within Point of Grace. I don’t know what we would have done without them!
Our Missional Community Leaders volunteered to coordinate the organization and filling of the baskets for our 35 families. They reached out to the brothers and sisters in their groups and encouraged them to volunteer to support this outpouring of love and blessing to the community. I don’t know what we would have done without them!
When we asked Point of Grace to pray over Gifts of Grace, to bring food, to donate funds, to shop, to fill baskets, to bake pies, to deliver the baskets of food to the families – they rose to the challenge. I don’t know what we would have done without them!
Jesus, thank you for these beautiful brothers and sisters who show their love for you and others by being riverbeds of provision to 35 families in our community. Thank you for our mutual love and dependency upon each other. We give because YOU first gave to us! We love because YOU first loved us! Help us to be a community of people who rise to the challenge of loving the community all around us. Help us to be a community of people that makes such a difference in our community that they won’t know what they would have done without us. Help us to show such compassion to others that they have no doubt that YOU are the stream of living water that flows from us to them.
Amen
Kelly