If God decided to show up, would you decide to join Him?

One of the great truths that's so often ignored in our churches today is the fact that nothing can truly happen unless God shows up. We easily make the mistake by thinking that if 'something' happens then God is there. But we only really know if God is moving if what we're seeing is something that only God can do.

This week we had an incredible response for our food drive. We quickly ran out of table space, then we ran out of boxes to put the food in. And throughout the weekend more and more food kept arriving on our porch. When the volunteers for the Food Bank came to pick everything up I could see them sighing with resignation while at the same time thanking me for our donation. "It's not from me," I said "It's from all over the community." Our community showed up! Generosity and compassion flowed.

Just like in previous years I found that most people who forgot to get anything ready were more than willing to pour through their cupboards and grab what they could for others. But I also saw more and more people with bags filled to the brim ready and excited about what we were doing together.

Only God can do that. Only God can move in the hearts of a community for compassion towards others. Good things come only from God. He's here and he's working, and he's doing something in the hearts of people.

It is often at this point when we in the church pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves for a job well done. However, this is not the time to stop. If you see God starting to work, then it's time to jump full force into it all and get involved.

Are you willing to get involved if God starts to show up? This should be a scarier question than I think it sounds. This will probably mean getting a little uncomfortable and it's definitely going to mean working with people. And it will probably deserve some priority shifts. But doesn't it sound meaningful? Doesn't it sound worth it? Doesn't it sound fulfilling?

When it comes to impacting this world for God the biggest part of our job isn't to find the right strategy, the best organization, or even the best people. Our biggest job is to keep wide eyes open to what might be happening around us, and looking for Jesus in the hearts of others.