Talk It and Walk It

I recently saw a post in one of the Yahoo groups I belong to refer to Jesus' ministry as "not one of ideas, but of acts." That struck me as something deeply profound, and it accurately describes His time on earth. Sure, He preached and introduced an amazing wealth of new ideas into our world, but He also took action.

Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple, healed the sick, and provided food for the hungry. Most importantly, of course, was his willingness to die a painful, gruesome death on behalf of mankind and establish the path for our salvation.

This example is a fairly straightforward one to apply in our lives, yet it often proves very difficult to do. It's not because there are not opportunities--the need for service greatly outweighs the resources available. From my experience, I feel it is the sinful nature of man that pushes us toward focusing on taking care of ourselves and makes service to others seem burdensome and uncomfortable.

I, for one, have decided to practice what I am preaching. I have recently signed up with an organization called Equality Maryland and have volunteered to participate in a protest at the State House in February against a proposed amendment that would make same-sex marriage illegal. I also plan on helping out the organization in other ways, along with assisting the local county branch of the organization.

Political involvement is important, but from where I sit it should never come ahead of our service to God. That's why my wife Brenda and I continue to ramp up our involvement in our church. She will soon be assuming some pastoral duties, while I am helping establish a drama ministry and supporting her outreach work. It's a busy life we have, but it's a very good one that God continues to bless and make better as time goes by.

None of these activites may sound appealing to you, and that's fine. Trust me, you won't have to look very hard to find something that fits your personality and utilizes the gifts that God gave you. This is especially important regarding the GLBT community.

There is a very loud, well financed group of people in this nation that would love nothing better than to chase every GLBT person back into the closet and never hear from them again. If you are part of this community, your rights are being threatened and you need to take action. If you are straight like me, you need to step up and let those who are narrow-minded towards GLBT people know that you won't stand for them being treated like second-class citizens, both in the political arena and in the house of God.

As we move into a New Year, people like to make resolutions and set goals. If you are not currently active, I strongly encourage you to make 2006 your year to ACT!

Happy New Year's everyone, and may God richly bless you in 2006.