Letters from Roscoe

If not Me . . . Wait!  What did you say?

It was just another Wednesday evening.  Tom Brown, the music director wasn’t there.  Something about a thirty some odd year wedding anniversary or something trivial like that.

The microphones weren’t working either and there was a flurry of activity trying to find the secret switch that would bring the system to life.  ‘So and so isn’t here either.  Who will handle that job?’ someone asked.  A reply was made and the discussion progressed to the next little problem.

Through it all Brother Eddie stood just as calm as a cucumber.  (You didn’t know cucumbers had emotions did you?)  He wasn’t worried.  This wasn’t his show to put together.  It was “Ours”.  It always has been, always will be.  Brother Eddie may be the shepherd of our Church, but he is not the one responsible for its success or failure.

We are.

That is how he could maintain such peace.  He knows it’s already in God’s hands.  God has been and still is working to bring people into the proper places to fill all the different roles in the Church.  He has been speaking to our hearts in that soft whisper of his.  Making quiet suggestions, God is prodding us all to step up and fill the niche that we were made for.  But there’s that free will thing again.  Our hearts need to be receptive and willing.  But many are not.  As God is speaking to our hearts, our minds are already scrambling to rationalize a way out of taking on the task.  But we need to stop and ask ourselves:

“If not Me, then Who?”

I came across this powerful question several weeks ago during the 9/11 remembrances.  It was in an article about Travis Manion, a 1^st Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps who was killed by enemy sniper fire in Iraq in 2007.  Living by this creed that now bears his name, he was killed while trying to draw fire away from his wounded teammates.  He gave his life that others may live.  The Travis Manion foundation ( https://www.travismanion.org ) was established in his honor, and now helps to build his kind of character in the up and coming generations.

That question has stayed with me ever since.  I knew God was trying to get me to use this question, but I didn’t quite understand how.

Brother Eddie’s calm amidst the chaos the other night placed the question into the right perspective.  Our Church is ‘Our’ responsibility.  If we do not step up and take on the different roles needed, then we must ask ourselves the question.  “If not me, then who?”

Who will teach my grandchild about Jesus?  Who will lead them to salvation?  Who will be there to lead a prayer for me when I have some debilitating illness?  Who will be there after the loss of a loved one to prepare a meal for my family?  Who will drive the bus to pick up my children for Church when I can’t take them?

God has placed us all here for his purpose.  Each one of us has a skill or job to do.  God is asking us to step up and begin to help.

That is where I stopped last night.  It was late, so I put things away and went to bed.  When I got up this morning, I read this morning’s devotional written by Kirsten Holmberg for Our Daily Bread.  Through her, God has sublimely restated the same message I was trying to deliver.  Here is her Devotional as it appears on http://ODB.org .

Bring Your Boats by Kirsten Holmberg

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. – Proverbs 3:27

Hurricane Harvey brought catastrophic flooding to eastern Texas in 2017. The onslaught of rain stranded thousands of people in their homes, unable to escape the floodwaters. In what was dubbed the “Texas Navy,” many private citizens brought boats from other parts of the state and nation to help evacuate stranded people.

The actions of these valiant, generous men and women call to mind the encouragement of Proverbs 3:27, which instructs us to help others whenever we are able. They had the power to act on behalf of those in need by bringing their boats. And so they did. Their actions demonstrate a willingness to use whatever resources they had at their disposal for the benefit of others.

We may not always feel adequate for the task at hand; often we become paralyzed by thinking we don’t have the skills, experience, resources, or time to help others. In such instances, we’re quick to sideline ourselves, discounting what we do have that might be of assistance to someone else. The Texas Navy couldn’t stop the floodwaters from rising, nor could they legislate government aid. But they used what they had within their power—their boats—to come alongside the deep needs of their fellow man. May we all bring our “boats”—whatever they may be—to take the people in our paths to higher ground.

Lord, all that I have is from You. Help me to always use what You’ve given me to help others.

God provides for His people through His people.

INSIGHT

Helping others by doing good when it’s in our power to act (Proverbs 3:27–28) is also the focus of Paul’s instructions to believers. Encouraging us to live meaningful and purposeful lives before a watching, non-believing world, Paul tells us to “be very careful, then, how [we] live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Careful living means we are to live godly lives as “children of light” pleasing to the Lord (vv. 8, 10). Paul expects “those who have trusted in God [to] devote themselves to doing what is good” (Titus 3:8). We are to adopt a never-give-up attitude when it comes to serving others: “Let us not become weary in doing good . . . . As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:9–10).

What can you do this week to serve someone?  K.T. Sim

So there you have it.  Could it be any clearer?  ‘God provides for His people, through His people.’

God has placed us here.  He has endowed us with the things needed to fulfill his purpose.  He has prepared us both physically and mentally to perform the function.  It is now up to us.  It is our Church.  It is our responsibility.

God is asking each of us “If not you, then who?”  and He is listening for our answer.  What will yours be?