You care if you're there!

A few days ago my sister in law gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She was thrilled, her husband was left speechless for several days, and it made me an uncle for the first time – quite an event in our family. But though we’re all very happy with this I feel a little bit detached from it all.

Sometimes I wonder if this is a little like us and God – things happen, but very often we feel detached from them all. We understand why its important, or exciting, or frightening, or concerning, we can even see why someone who was there, or involved can feel so passionately about it, yet we can’t feel the same way. We feel a bit empty, unexcited, passionless, maybe even a bit of a fraud.

I read a passage in Nehemiah the other day which reminded me of this feeling. Some family of Nehemiah bring him news that the walls of God’s city, Jerusalem, have been burned down. Now Nehemiah lives hundreds of miles away: for him it could be like hearing that your friend’s auntie’s budgie has flu, a bit sad, but you know, what can be done about it?

But that’s not his reaction. The Bible tells us “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” (Neh 1:4).

He cares. The reputation of his people and his God are on the line. There’s no way he can just shrug his shoulders and go “bummer”. It’s too important, it means too much to him. He has to do something! So he wrestles in prayer and pro-actively looks for a way he can get involved.

I’m really pleased with my new nephew, but the news cannot compare with the moment I held one of my boys for the first time. Those were exciting, passion filled, life changing moments. There’s no emptiness or faking it when I speak about them. There’s no limit to how much I’ll care about them.

Tonight I saw Bono on the news talking about AIDS in Africa. He’s there – he cares. Last year I heard Jackie Pullinger speak about the poor she works with. She’s there – she cares. You can understand why something’s important if you’re far away. But if you experience something close up, then you really care!

So here’s what I’m taking from Nehemiah. Next time I’m feeling a bit detached from God, a bit empty or passionless about the mission of the Church, then I’m going to get involved. I’m not going to mope about in self-pity. I’m not even going to spend anytime beating myself up about being a fraud. I’m going to throw myself at an aspect of our ministry, I’m going to involve myself in the lives of the people the church works with, face to face, heart to heart, until I feel their pain, hurt, or emptiness. Until God shows me how much they mean to him, and the Spirit has broken my heart for them. Because then I’ll be involved. Then I’ll be there. Then I’ll care.

Because the Gospel is just too important to shrug your shoulders over.