Leaks (Pentecost - Day 5)

2 Corinthians 8:1-16

In today's passage, Paul is trying to pump up the church in Corinth to stay true to their vision. A year prior they developed this vision to bring relief to poor Christians. The had a plan. They were committed. Then, someone in the mix started stirring up trouble. The person started thwarting the operation. The problem became so distracting that the congregation took their eyes off the commitment they had made and honed in on how to discipline the defiant member. 

They're now at the point where they have welcomed the member back, completely forgiving him or her, and helping them back on their feet. But, they have not been able to recapture their vision. They've lost their focus, their ability to dream. 

So, Paul uses his experiences with the churches in Macedonia as motivation for the people of Corinth. He says that he witnessed these churches run into devastating problems. We're not told exactly what they were, except that it left everybody extremely poor. But, Paul says that even though the people were devastatingly poor, they were extremely happy. They started giving more than they could afford to help the people around them. In the end, nothing was left over to the people with the most, and nothing was lacking to the ones with the least. They spent little time worrying about their own poverty, and figured out how to help out the poor around them. They worked shoulder to shoulder with each other, and the deficits of one person were matched with the surpluses of another. 

Paul says that trials came, and instead of keeping quiet and hiding their troubles from the outside world, they decided to open their troubles up. They allowed themselves to be helped, and they devoted themselves to helping others. 

Over the last month or so, my car has been overheating. I can't afford a new radiator. I've been spending all the money I have on coolant that essentially leaks out of the radiator every four to five days. It's been draining every bit of extra money I have. 

I took a friend gigging two weekends ago, and told him that I needed to put some coolant in my car so it wouldn't overheat while we were in the middle of nowhere. As we were driving, he said he could talk to his neighbor about fixing it. I didn't think much about it, but I thought it was nice that he thought about it. I just didn't know if he was serious or not. 

Two days ago, he sent me a text telling me to come over after work so they could work on my car. These guys had begun doing research on the Internet to prepare for my car. They searched Honda forums, asked questions, brainstormed, and had a plan before I even got there! The crazy part about it is, they don't even know me. 

I'd love to say that I was the person bringing relief to the poor Christian, but I am the poor Christian in this case - no money whatsoever to do the necessary work on my car. So, I showed up to my friends house, and his wife made me dinner and coffee. Then, we took the car two houses down and parked it in the neighbor's garage. From 5:00 to 10:30, five of us had a blast "S.L.A.M.-ming." The owner of the garage said that at work they have this phrase called SLAM. It means "Stop. Locate. Assess. Manage." The guy kept saying SLAM throughout the work, applying his own methodical ways of figuring out solutions to problems.

After the problem was diagnosed, two of the neighbors couldn't believe how dirty my car was. They felt it was absolutely necessary to wash it. This was the most humbling part of it all. It was like getting my feet washed, which by the way makes sense. Feet were used to travel in Paul's time, and today it's mostly cars. 

We worked side by side, and my deficits were matched by their surpluses. I was going through a "trial," and instead of me sitting back letting them "work on me," the "project manager" allowed me to play an active part in the whole process. 

This was all voluntary. People I didn't even know banded together to work on something that was causing me grief, and I'm going back today after work. They want to keep going until my car is fixed. They demand it. They won't stop until it's finished. I'm amazed at how selfless these guys are, and they have a great time while they're at it. This is the Church of Redbud. Redbud is the street name. Offerings are made in the form of twelve packs of beer and heavy metal music. 

The blessing for these guys is they get to do what they love - work on an old beat up car. The blessing for me is, I get my feet washed. 

Today's Action: Who is poor among us? Pay attention to any tangible problems that are going on in their lives, and start networking on ways to find a solution.