Suffering has dominated the headlines this past week.  Whether it was the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal that has claimed over 6,000 lives and 130,000 homes or the massive protests occurring in Baltimore as well as other cities, the news cycle has had no shortage of heart-wrenching messages to deliver.  So much so that the disgusting work of ISIS in the Middle East continuing to murder, kidnap, rape, torture, and sell fellow human beings has gone largely unmentioned.
It’s easy to despair in situations like these.  I’m not sure what kind of person you are, but I’m a pessimist and a realist at heart.  My first thoughts upon hearing terrible news like Nepal or Freddie Gray is to ask God, “Lord, why did this have to happen?  When are these things gonna change?”  And it’s really easy for me to get down and feel like there’s nothing I can do to change the world.  What can I do to help people thousands of miles away who have literally lost everything they own and have no idea where their next meal is coming from or where they will sleep tonight?  What can I do to break down a system of racism and indifference towards people of a certain color and socioeconomic background that has been established by the very political and social infrastructure of this country?  What can I do to change the world?
One answer is – not much.  As an individual, there’s not a lot that this simple man can do.  I have no power.  I have no authority.  I can barely manage my own life – how am I supposed to fix anyone else’s?
But there’s another answer to that question if we call ourselves Christians.  And that answer is to save the world.  As Christians, we believe in a living God who loves His creation and desires for the reconciliation and restoration of all things.  We believe in a God who will “wipe every tear from [our] eyes” (Revelation 7:17).  We believe in a God who commands us to “not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).  We believe in a God who says that “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).  This is the God we follow, this is the God who will save this world.
Education will not save this world.  We are more educated now than we have ever been.  Politics will not save this world.  Look at the rise and fall of all the empires, political movements, and even the current state of affairs in the United States to see what politics has done to improve the world.  There is literally nothing that can save this world from itself other than the redeeming, restoring, reconciling, revealing love of Jesus Christ evidenced by the cross.
Of all the news coverage I saw online of the chaos going on in Baltimore, one of the most striking was when a reporter asked a pastor who was surveying the aftermath of his church’s community service buildings being burned down, “What do you see?”  And the pastor replied “I see revival.  I see the opportunity to rebuild from the ashes.  I see a Church that's been resilient… I see us coming back even bigger and better than before.”  This is who we are.  We are the church.  We are literally the body of the resurrected Christ in the world today.  We are the ones who bring the kingdom of heaven wherever we go.  We are the ones who have the power of the Holy Spirit flowing out of us to touch the lives of everyone we know.  This is who we are.  The task we have is clearer today than ever before.  Will we meet the challenge?
There is a Jewish proverb that states, “I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”  Thank God for the shoulders of Jesus Christ that were broad enough to be stretched upon a cross for our sins.  Thank God for the shoulders of the church that are broad enough to be stretched across the world to save it.  Thank God for our shoulders that, though they may seem small, are doing what God has given us the strength to do, whether it be to give sacrificially, pray unceasingly, and love inconveniently.

From Pastor David’s Heart
May 3, 2015

Back when my wife was 8 months pregnant with our son, Andrew, we were living in Sacramento, California. I had come home from the church office on a Thursday late afternoon. We had an appointment to take a tour of the hospital that we were planning to go to have our baby. This was before we even knew we would be moving to VA and having Andrew here. We were running a little late, so my wife made a makeshift dinner. We sat down to eat, and there in the middle of the table was a plate of what I thought was sautéed red onions. So I started eating it along with rice and the rest of the side dishes of meat and kimchi. As I was eating the red onions, something just did not seem right. It seemed raw and uncooked. Rather than questioning her cooking, I said “This tastes good!” and kept on eating it. I just thought maybe this is how people eat red onions in Korea nowadays. I don’t know if some of you have ever had raw red onions, but the taste and smell is so strong. Some of the pieces brought tears to my eyes from the spiciness, but I kept on chomping away and ended up finishing the whole plate.
After we quickly ate, we rushed out the door and started driving to the hospital. The smell of onions was beginning to take over the car. I tried everything. Driving with the windows down. Blasting the AC. Closing my mouth. But nothing worked. Just as it was getting unbearable, we arrived at the hospital. We signed in for the tour and waited in the lobby. Slowly, the lobby was getting filled with other people who were taking the tour. The onion smell reeked. There was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. What made it worse was for parts of the tour we had to pack into the elevator. It was a short trip up and down, but if felt like an eternity for us and the people packed in that confined space with the stench of onions as our only source of air. I don’t think I have ever smelled so bad in my life. I don’t think I will ever smell so bad in my life.
Towards the end of the tour, we were walking behind the rest of the group (it was the least I could do to help them deal with my stink), and my wife turns to me and says “You really smell bad!” I replied “Yea, I know, it’s from those red onions.” To which she said “I didn’t want to tell you that I had forgotten to cook them and that you were eating raw onions because you seemed to be enjoying them so much!” We both just bust out laughing. We were laughing because I stunk so much. We were laughing because all these people were suffering because of me. We were laughing because they knew I was the source of the smell. We were laughing the whole car ride home. Needless to say, I was so happy to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth when I got home. I’ve also become more careful with my onion consumption after this had happened.
That day, I literally experienced what Jesus meant when he said “Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make him unclean. It’s what comes out of a person that makes a person unclean.” in Mark 7:15. Although, we may not be able to “smell” things like cursing, blasphemy, pride, judgement, condescension, envy, lewdness, and other things that can come out of our mouths, I’m sure that it probably smells worse than the smell of red onions coming from my mouth. Let’s not take lightly what comes out of our mouths. Instead, let’s watch our stank!

From Pastor Eugene’s Heart
June 14, 2015