Another book, another post!! Over the past couple weeks, I read through a book by David Platt, Something Needs to Change. After going through the book, I found that this title was entirely correct– something truly needs to change! In our lives, our heart postures, the way we view the world and treat one another, the outreach we have, the way we portray Christ personally and collectively as the church. In this book, David lays out a narrative of his hiking travels through the Himalayas to remote villages. He describes his experiences and firsthand witness of poverty, abuse, and darkness that was thrown his way during his trip. I highly recommend giving it a read! I took away a few main points from his book that I would love to share.
- There are both urgent physical and spiritual needs! We as believers are called to help and love our neighbors, to hold up the afflicted in their seasons of struggle, to go to the poor and needy. Yes, this does mean coming up with ways to help find relief for starvation, homelessness, and so many other things. However, as much as that is needed, spiritual needs are far greater. As much as we give this world relief physically, there is an eternity beyond it that matters far more. The Gospel is what ultimately saves and heals, not anything of this world. As much as we need physically, we need more spiritually.
- Our view of church needs to change. Church isn’t supposed to be a social scene. I’ll say it again. Church is not supposed to be a social scene! Church is where we get filled up and equipped to go out and share the Gospel in other circles of our life. Church is where we can go broken and in need of our Father. Church is a place where we soak up community and have real, vulnerable accountability with one another.
It’s a lot. But you start somewhere, and trust that God is partnered with you in everything.
