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The Benevolent Heart
Brian Mashburn
May 13, 2007
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Family Service Center
To many of us, the term Family Service Center brings pictures of a square building out on the southwest corner of our church's property.
Is that what it is?
Sort of, I guess. But to me, and maybe I'm a tad too romantic about the work of Christ in the world, it is more.
"Family" - Christ is constantly trying to extend the depth and breadth of what this word is to mean to us. We live in a world that values independence and materialism, do we not? What if our fragile world is more attracted to God's vision of interdependence and sacrificial sharing? Care to guess which values line up with and promote Christ's idea of family? That "square building" serves as a reminder that who and what we consider "family" should be stretched to include those Christ includes.
"Service" - Did Jesus intend on his people to live Christianity or study it? To speak about service or do service? Is Matthew 25 something to teach in class or an actual scene that will take place in the future? Today we ask you to dig deep and fund our church's corporate program that "services" people in need with your money, but we also ask you to dig deep and find the people of need in your personal life and serve them by offering them your authentic friendship. This is what Christ means by service.
"Center" - It's a word that means middle, hub, core, heart, focal point. So, at the center of the work of the Family Service Center is the love of Christ. Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to this "center" said, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."
We have many among us who put great love into the "service" of our extended "family" through our "center". Let's fund them. And let's find them.