Imagine A World Without Need

Beloved,

We are more than halfway through the fifth month of this year. They say that time flies when you are having fun. I am not sure if all are having fun but time is certainly skipping along in 2021 for many of us.

In the midst of time moving forward at a rapid pace, so is sin and brokenness in the world. Now, I am not about to go dark on you because scripture tells us that Jesus is the light of the world and Jesus said that we are also supposed to be light as He was and is light. So, we, the children of God, should not go dark. It is against our truer nature, our better nature that is on our way to being our best selves.

But, despite the light in and of God's children, there is still great darkness in the world.

Now, when there is darkness, you can experience the dark. When there is darkness, you can talk about the dark. When there is darkness, you can dwell on and in the dark.

But, what if God called you to do something else other than to simply experience, talk or dwell in the dark?

What if God called you to confront the dark with your light so that the dark would cease to exist?

Beloved, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs are all a form of darkness. So, another way of asking the question is, "What if God called you to confront the needs of the world so that needs would cease to exist?"

If God called you to use your God-given time, your God-given talent, and your God-given treasure to meet the needs right in your presence that would reveal God's conquering, affirming, and life-giving light over the destructive, divisive, and damning darkness of the world, would you do it?

Well, beloved, as a Christian, that is exactly what you are supposed to do.

In the first generation of the church, that is what some chose to do.

Acts 4:32-34 reveals, "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold."

Beloved, these Christians, our Christian ancestors and family, were choosing to imagine a world without need because, out of the abundance that God had given them, they met the needs right before them. There was no government agency. There was no charitable event. There was no appeal to worldly people and worldly institutions. With what they had, they stepped up for each other and gave so that no one in the church family experienced need.

Beloved, because they did this for each other in the world, it drew other people to them to experience a relationship with God, the God who is love, that had not existed before.

Beloved, what are you doing, right now, with your God-given time, your God-given talent, and your God-given treasure that shows that you are not simply concerned about you and yours but that you have such a heart for the church and the world, as God does, that you reveal that you too are imagining a world without need and are daring to move into and live into that direction for your life?

Right now, everyone has something that they can give. What are you giving to the cause of Christ right now?

When the need comes before you that could disappear with a little imagination, are you going to retreat into darkness so that the world will continue to experience the dark, talk about the dark and dwell on and in the dark? Or, are you going to be light and breathe life into the imagination of a world without need?

Every issue of sin in this world is based on some level of need. God has sent His people, His children, to meet the needs of the world. All it takes is a little imagination which God will take and turn into great revelation.

Beloved, meet with us at Noonday Prayer and pray for the world without need. Beloved, connect with us on the Light radio broadcast at 3:00 to hear messages of how to live into a world without need. Beloved, prepare to learn more about the word of God that we all need, during HOPE Wednesday, at 6:30 this evening to equip us to effect a world without need. And, beloved, get ready to hear a God-affirming message on Sunday morning to activate you to change our world into a world without need.

And, remember, God loves you and I love you too!

Be blessed,

Rev. Cain