When are we in this story?

We sometimes have a tendency to read stories such as this one from Matthew and rush to the ending. If we do that here, we might think that our work in the world is to help separate the good from the bad.

But what if we’re not living in the end of this story? What if our job isn't to separate the good from the bad?

“Jesus was going around ‘doing the kingdom’, healing people, cleansing lepers, feeding the hungry, he was celebrating at a party with all the wrong people, transforming people’s lives and saying cryptic things such as, ‘Let me tell you what the kingdom of God is like.’ The church has it the other way round. It has tended to say, ‘We must say it, say it, say it as clearly as possible and if there is any energy left over, we’ll do a bit of it as well.”

-N.T. Wright, The Australian newspaper article, Resurrecting faith (published 13/4/06)

But dad, I'm bored...

How many times have you found yourself waiting for God? Waiting for instructions, guidance, or some kind of grandiose indication?

What would happen if we all 'mucked in' to, as N.T. Wright says, "do the kingdom"? If we all lived in the moment, instead of for a moment?

“Sagéne is a particular kind of net, namely one that is dragged through the water, indiscriminately taking in everything in its path. Accordingly, the Kingdom of heaven (and, by extension, the church as the sacrament of that kingdom) manifests the same indiscriminateness. … Just as the net fetches out everything it meets in the sea, so the kingdom fetches home to God everything in the world.”

-Robert Farrar Capon, The Parables of Grace, pages 125-126

“(I)f the kingdom works like a dragnet, gathering every kind, the church, as the sacrament of the kingdom, should avoid the temptation to act like a sport fisherman who is interested only in speckled trout and hand tied flies. In particular, it should not get itself into the habit of rejecting as junk the flotsam and jetsam of the world - the human counterparts of the old boots, bottles and beer cans that a truly catholic fishing operation will inevitably dredge up.”

- Robert Farrar Capon, The Parables of Grace, page 127

A matter of importance

We enjoy classifying things. Mostly as per their percieved importance. But is it things that are truly important?

What if we changed our mindset to look at the how and why instead of trying to allocate importance to the things of this world?

“Big people can do big things. But we can only ever be big people in our own minds. In global terms, we will only ever be little people and, as little people, we can only ever do little things. Great things can happen. Not as a result of little people trying to do impossibly big things, but as the result of the cumulative effect of lots of little people doing lots of the little things we can do.”

- Dave Andrews, Plan Be, page 2

“Every act of truth is a victory over lies. Every act of love is a victory over hatred. Every act of justice is a victory over brutality. Every act of peace is a victory over bloodshed. And every risk a person takes to make a stand, no matter how small it may be, is a victory in the battle to build a better world.”

- Dave Andrews, Plan Be, page 67

But I'm just a little fish in a big pond...

How often have you had this thought? It's too much for me. It's all just a bit pointless.

But what if the point wasn't to eat of the harvest, or have the responsibility to choose which are the good fish, and which are the bad? What if your job was just to plant the seed, or take your place in a line of people all doing their part?

What if the point was that often times it's the little things that count the most? How would that change your day to day?

As our life groups gather this week, we have attached our reference verse and some questions to prompt a deeper discussion and search into this week's topic.

If you are not currently part of a life group, and would like to join a small group of like minded people in fellowship and connection during the week, please contact Nick on 0417472474 to register your interest.

Life Group Discussion - Read Matthew 13:47-50

1. If grace is a dragnet, do you find yourself in the net, on the shore helping, or both?
2. What examples in your life make you think that you are in that particular situation?
3. What do you think the dragnet of grace is made of?
4. Do you sometimes find it difficult to be a part of the net, knowing who has been caught?
5. How does this affect the way you connect, engage, and interact with others each day?
6. What changes will you choose to make this week?

Take some time to pray for one another

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