Thoughts from Beth
One thought I have been pondering of late is “What problem does Harmony through Harmony seek to address?”
What is your answer to this question?
My answer was “To counteract the culture of “It’s all about me.”
Reid’s answer was “There are too many people indifferent about injustice.”
We’d love to hear your answer.
A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”Isaiah 40:3
What could this mean in our cultural context?
I think our “desert” is the desert of indifference and selfishness.
We are indifferent to the world beyond our immediate circles. We care only about what impacts us directly.
We are indifferent to suffering, oppression, darkness. Unless of course it is our own suffering, oppression and darkness in which case we are obsessed by it.
We are indifferent to the unique strengths, talents and passions we have been given. We prefer to compare ourselves to others, look at our weaknesses, complain.
We are indifferent to the gifts of abundance in our lives. We spend more time focusing on the scarcities in our lives.
We are indifferent to the challenge to daily trust in God’s goodness, follow the example of Jesus and live empowered by the Spirit. We choose instead to try to do it all in our own strength, in our own understanding, and with pride.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Galatians 5:1
I am so inspired to be a part of a community with compassion at its heart. Caring for others who are different from me, learning about issues that are not my own, seeing a world through a different lens. It brings me great joy to work to be a voice for the voiceless, to use my voice for good, to encourage the voices of others to speak into the wilderness… to be part of creating a movement that will one day grow from a whisper to a shout, like a trumpet!
I am a better person when I am part of a community that holds me accountable, loves me as I am, encourages me to use the gifts I have been given and holds light out to me in times I experience darkness.
I encourage you to memorize and pray this passage:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:1- 3
