About Life Giving Saturday
April 17th, 2010
Thoughts From Missions Pastor Ian Campbell
Q: As the pastor overseeing Life-Giving Saturday (LGS), what do you feel it's all about?
A: Life-Giving Saturday is an opportunity for us to really demonstrate that Jesus' love has changed our lives. As long as it's just words and claims and void of any actions of love, it has no credibility in today's world where words are cheap. The only recourse we have is to get out there and demonstrate to people that Jesus cares.
Q: What exactly does that look like?
A: That means going to places people wouldn't choose to go to because love doesn't pick the easy way. It embraces people's suffering and pain. There is a cost we have to be willing to pay in order to get to a place for people to see we really love them. If it's easy love, it seems unconvincing and insincere. The more projects are meeting genuine needs that people have, the more it shows that we really care because it's not us trying to find a project that suits us. It's us doing what it takes to meet a person's need.
Q: What Bible passage do you think helps people best understand this event?
A: There are so many biblical examples of this, but the Good Samaritan is one we know well. Your neighbor is the one who needs you most... And so when Jesus says, "Love your neighbor as yourself" He's saying, "Love the one who needs you, who needs your help most." It doesn't have to do with geography but with need.
Life-Giving Saturday is thousands of people being tangibly touched by God's love.
There are so many needs... Imagine the Need
You're exhausted, but you can't sleep. The responsibility of feeding, clothing, and caring for your children as a single parent presses down upon you. If only you had someone to lean on, someone who could just listen...
You always loved to garden, but it's spring and your flowerbeds are bare. Cancer has robbed you of your strength and depression is robbing you of your hope. They're just flowers. Why should you care? And yet...
Every day is monotonously the same. Nurses, pills, flipping TV channels to find something to take your mind off the boredom and uselessness you feel. Your children rarely visit. After all, who wants to hang out in a nursing home. But you're lonely, so very lonely...
A Touch of Kindness
There are so many people like those mentioned above who are desperate for a simple act of kindness. Life-Giving Saturday is about tangibly expressing God's love to people in simple, yet life-changing ways. It is about helping them in the midst of their need and showing, through our actions instead of just our words, that God truly loves them.
How You Can Help
There are a variety of ways you can reach out to people with Jesus' love. We are still looking for more opportunities to help people. Let us know if you have a project we could participate in that would help someone you know. We also need team members. Below are some new projects to join.
Imagine the Results!
You're exhausted, but it's been an amazing day. Your neighbor down the road and several other ladies stopped by with casseroles and cleaning supplies. They helped you clean and organize your apartment, something you haven't had the time to do with everything else on your plate. And more than that, they just let you talk. For the first time in years you feel cared for; they even promised to come back. Maybe God did hear your prayers...
Your flowerbeds are filled with vibrantly colored plants. The bare earth is now hidden under a blanket of petals. And somehow, as you look at them in the late afternoon sun, you feel hope again. Does God really love you enough to send some people from the local church to plant your flowers...
Today, the monotony was broken with smiling faces and energetic songs that reminded you of years past. How good it was to hear those old, familiar tunes. And what's more, those people promised to return. Maybe, just maybe, God hasn't forgotten you...
Life-Giving Saturday is thousands of people being tangibly touched by God's love!