The Thursday night group is the most intense and intimate of our gatherings. It is also the group most committed to growth by the multiplication of the number of gatherings, not by adding to the particpation in the gathering.
These people are committed to radical obedience to Jesus. Several of them make me uncomfortable by the extent to which they are willing to take the teachings of Jesus, even in the Sermon on the Mount, literally.
This is the group that is studying Francis Chan's CRAZY LOVE. Chan's call to a life of radical love is extreme and it is backed up by the life Chan has been living in recent years. But, to be fair to the group, they were already at the place Chan would take us before we began reading the book.
Last night, we began Chan's chapter that quotes Jesus saying, "lend to them without expecting to be paid back." (Lk 6)
Those words throttled the meeting. We never moved beyond them.
By the the time the meeting broke up, we agreed to take a sizable portion of the group's financial reserves and offer it as a loan to a young couple we know in need but who have a well earned reputation for not paying back money that has been loaned to them.
The discussion leading to that action was challenging and, for me, uncomfortable. But, we concluded that to do this is to be faithful to Jesus, come what may.
I am blessed to gather with people who truly spur me on to love and good works.
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