When we consider how the church should respond to its surrounding community, the starting point of the discussion has to be how Jesus responded to his surrounding community. We’ve considered some of what Jesus did. Consider for a moment what he didn’t do.
For example, he could have easily–with a word–healed every disease in Palestine–or the world! He could have cast out every demon the minute he began his ministry. He could have fed 5 million rather than 5 thousand. And had he done all this, people would surely have been impressed and appreciative! After all, people had to travel for miles–make journeys of many days–just to get close to Jesus to be healed. Healing people one at a time, person to person, face to face was just plain inefficient. Continue reading
