The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

I have seen faith work in our community




Grant

Grant

Some days it feels like God’s team is losing. I hear of declining churches, with division and scandals. Prayer seems weak if God’s response is slow or not what I hoped.

At the same time, I see signs that Christian faith works. Here are three.

Scripture connects. Each week volunteers lead Bible studies with unhoused friends at Compassionate Hands. About a dozen attend, not as a requirement, but because they want to grow.

When we read the story of the cross in Luke 23, one man asked, “Why did they kill Jesus if he was healing people? How did God punish them for rejecting his son?”

He apologized for asking so many questions. “I’ve heard about Jesus, but I’ve never actually read the Bible.” It was fun to watch scripture come alive for him.

No matter where we live or how much we possess, we hunger for hope. God’s story in the Bible provides deep hope. Even people reading the Bible for the first time are drawn to Jesus.

The church is blessing lives. In a recent sermon, Jacob Armstrong explained that Christianity should have never survived. Jesus was an unknown, itinerant preacher rejected by his people and executed by the government. His successors were uneducated ruffians who misunderstood his mission.

And yet, without money or political power, Jesus’ followers spread his story worldwide.

Today over 2 billion people practice some form of Christianity. There are Christians in every nation, and faith thrives even in the face of opposition.

I admit that at times we present a poor image of Jesus. Somehow the message of Jesus outshines our failures. God keeps raising up leaders and churches seeking goodness, authenticity, and love.

My story is not unique; anyone who spends time with Jesus is changed for the better. Those lives and churches allowing scripture to shape us provide strong evidence that faith works.

John Grant has served as Minister and Executive Director with Compassionate Hands since 2018. “Worship Wilson” is a weekly column written by clergy and people of faith in Wilson County.

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