“It’s not a charity, its a movement …”
“It's not a charity it’s a movement “. That's how one commentator captured the scene of the sea of blue beanies worn by the nearly nearly 90,000 watching the Kings Birthday AFL clash between Collingwood & Melbourne the other week. For the last 10 years the match has been set aside as the match to raise funds for the fight against MND.
What started off as the dream of a daughter (Bec Daniher) shattered by the news of her father, champion Melbourne player Neil Daniher, receiving, what has been described by many as a "death-sentence, has grown to capture the attention and respect and love of a state and, indeed I would say nearly a whole nation.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a brutal disease with no cure, and the Daniher family and the team behind Fight MNDare continually raising money for research to find a cure in the hope that the tide of those dying from Motor Neurone Disease can be stemmed. Without wanting to diminish the awfulness of the disease and the suffering famliies go through as they watch their loved ones battle it's effects, it got me thinking on two fronts about what I saw.
The world in which we live is under a death-sentence of sorts. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians describes the recipients (and by extension all of us) as being like dead people walking around under the weight of sin. And the good news is that in God's grace the cure for the death-sentence of sin has already been found. We don’t need to raise money for it is only by Jesus and his once-for-all death that we can be made alive and the curse of sin has been lifted
Coupled with this we have the good news of that cure to bring to all those around us.
Like the commentators in the Collingwood-Melbourne game said, we can also say that Christianity is no charity it's a movement. It's a movement that was sparked by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead and lit such a flame that this good news spread throughout the known world in the first 3 centuries like wildfire as the Apostles and then the early church as it grew, brought the good news to those around them. And the good news of the risen Lord Jesus continues to spread throughout the world today.
But we realise it's not easy in our culture. Some are hardened to the gospel, some are apathetic, it's difficult at times to get the gospel to cut-through everything else that's clamouring for people's attention. So how do we make people sit up and take notice; how do we give people the space and opportunity to believe in the gospel message of which we are ambassadors? How do we champion the gospel?
The early chapters of Acts give us some great examples of how Jesus' resurrection shapes our posture towards each other; our society which helps us in our proclamation & witness. For we have a profound message of hope to bring to a society groaning under the weight of sin. Our Big Day In: STAY2024 in September will help us think through some of these things. It is when the gospel impacts our lives, conforming us into the image of the Son, that our witness shines brighter. When we go out of our way to sacrifice for the sake of the lost, whether it be sacrificing our time to serve those who are needy or forgoing concerns of a friend’s approval to share our faith over a coffee, then seeds of the gospel are sown.
STAY 2024 will be a time to learn from the Scriptures and pray for opportunities for God to use the seemingly simple things in our hands to minister to a world in need. We will be encouraged to look at our suburb and look at the opportunities God is giving us to reach people. We will be challenged to look at the early church in Acts and think how we can share the truth we have, calling people to repentance—all the while ensuring that the gospel message we carry with us matches our lives.