Living in Ohio has taught me something…winter is brutal. In the Summer time, it is common to see several people walking around on the streets and driving with the windows down. Winter on the other hand is quite different. You wont see as many people walking around on the streets, and windows are definitely not down.
Many mornings I will start my car a few minutes before I’m ready to leave so that I don’t have to sit in a cold car for the first 10 minutes of the drive. I then gather all my belongings and try to make it to the car in the shortest amount of time. Why? The cold is uncomfortable. I would much rather it be warm than cold.
So what do you think would happen if we applied this ideal to the Church?
The city of Columbus is large. My house is small in comparison. But I would much rather be in my small house than out in the big open city. If we look at the world as the city and our home as the church, then why aren’t we advertising that we have heat?!
I feel like so many times we take the gift that we have and don’t share it with the world. We read verses like the great commission and we jump at the bit to reach the world, yet our city is in shambles. We will send food, clothes and supplies half way around the world, yet not even notice the person that is freezing by our front door. We take short-term missions trips to other cities in other states and help their people, but when we come home we go back to our home, neglecting our own.
Going back to the home and city analogy, there are many different places that you can find heat. Your house being one, can represent the Church. Our cars, let them represent the evangelists that take the heat around the city. Then there are manholes (I like this one), this is the street ministry.
The manholes are placed everywhere. They don’t care about their surroundings, yet they continue to have heat pour from them. If we really believe that we have something that others need and that they are willing to make the journey to get there, I think we should be advertising it.
We should be sharing with our friends, “I know a place where you can get warm.” Tell them where to find the free hot spot.