Time for Action
Jesus tells a parable in Luke 16 of an unjust steward who squandered his master's resources. Knowing that he faced an uncertain future after being told that he would no longer be employed, the steward took action to help insure that he would be provided for. He was commended for the wisdom he employed to prepare for the uncertainty he would face in the future.
This parable is pertinent to us at this time. We are facing uncertainty in the days ahead like at no other time since the Great Depression. Economists tell us that the national debt is now impossible to pay off. There are those who are forecasting triple digit inflation and unemployment at 20% or more. Add to this the projected collapse of the banking system that is already teetering on the edge, and you have the perfect storm.
Like the steward of Jesus' parable, we must ask ourselves, "What shall I do?" To continue with 'business as usual' will only insure that we will be totally unprepared when the storm hits. So what can be done to prepare? The obvious answer that comes from all quarters is to get out of debt. This is a must, but there is a second course of action that 99% of the population is oblivious to: joining together in a sharing community.
To break out of the mold of our individualism and come together in community will enable people to not only withstand the ravages of the storm, but will enable them to have provision in the midst of hardship and famine. God has instilled within his creation principles of growth and provision of exponential proportion in the context of community. It's none other than the kingdom of God. And it's this kingdom that weathers the storms of the corruption of man's systems.
The 2009 movie, Defiance, a true story about three Jewish brothers in World War II eastern Europe who provided a community in the Belarussian forests for threatened Jews under Nazism is a vivid illustration of the protective and redemptive power of community. These Jews, who would never have survived on their own, lived through the war to see their children and grandchildren in the years following accrue in number into the thousands. These thousands of lives would have never existed were it not for community.
No one is in a better position to meet, endure, and overcome the gathering storm than those who are followers of Jesus Christ. But we need to take action now in order to be prepared.
This parable is pertinent to us at this time. We are facing uncertainty in the days ahead like at no other time since the Great Depression. Economists tell us that the national debt is now impossible to pay off. There are those who are forecasting triple digit inflation and unemployment at 20% or more. Add to this the projected collapse of the banking system that is already teetering on the edge, and you have the perfect storm.
Like the steward of Jesus' parable, we must ask ourselves, "What shall I do?" To continue with 'business as usual' will only insure that we will be totally unprepared when the storm hits. So what can be done to prepare? The obvious answer that comes from all quarters is to get out of debt. This is a must, but there is a second course of action that 99% of the population is oblivious to: joining together in a sharing community.
To break out of the mold of our individualism and come together in community will enable people to not only withstand the ravages of the storm, but will enable them to have provision in the midst of hardship and famine. God has instilled within his creation principles of growth and provision of exponential proportion in the context of community. It's none other than the kingdom of God. And it's this kingdom that weathers the storms of the corruption of man's systems.
The 2009 movie, Defiance, a true story about three Jewish brothers in World War II eastern Europe who provided a community in the Belarussian forests for threatened Jews under Nazism is a vivid illustration of the protective and redemptive power of community. These Jews, who would never have survived on their own, lived through the war to see their children and grandchildren in the years following accrue in number into the thousands. These thousands of lives would have never existed were it not for community.
No one is in a better position to meet, endure, and overcome the gathering storm than those who are followers of Jesus Christ. But we need to take action now in order to be prepared.
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