The Village ILWIDIot
Walt Wiltschek
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” —2 Timothy 1:7, NIV
A new year brings a new chapter, but so far the story has felt rather heavy. Recent tragedy in New Orleans and the raging Los Angeles wildfires join challenging news continuing to come out of Gaza and Ukraine, tumult in Sudan and South Korea, plus political upheaval here and around the world. It’s a lot, and often rather overwhelming.
It can leave us feeling rather powerless, yet I know that’s not true. The author Voltaire (later picked up by Spider-Man), famously said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Those of us in our little congregations in our little district in our little Church of the Brethren might not believe we possess great power, but we do have the responsibility to use what we have. We all have some degree of power to affect our world, however small.
Brethren musician Andy Murray reminded us of this with his song, “What Can One Person Do?” His answer to that is simple: “That’s a very good question, if you don’t do nothing at all.” Tempting as it is to close the blinds and pull the covers over our face, that’s not an option for followers of Christ.
We pray. We give. We reach out. We respond. We help to rebuild. We mend broken places. We speak words of change. We care. We love. We look out for our neighbors. We increase our awareness. We do small acts of kindness. We do the good we can, the good that is ours to do.
Or, as Andy put it, “If each one would just do what they could, working side by side, we could do a lot of good.”
So power up, friends. There’s work to be done.
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” —2 Timothy 1:7, NIV
A new year brings a new chapter, but so far the story has felt rather heavy. Recent tragedy in New Orleans and the raging Los Angeles wildfires join challenging news continuing to come out of Gaza and Ukraine, tumult in Sudan and South Korea, plus political upheaval here and around the world. It’s a lot, and often rather overwhelming.
It can leave us feeling rather powerless, yet I know that’s not true. The author Voltaire (later picked up by Spider-Man), famously said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Those of us in our little congregations in our little district in our little Church of the Brethren might not believe we possess great power, but we do have the responsibility to use what we have. We all have some degree of power to affect our world, however small.
Brethren musician Andy Murray reminded us of this with his song, “What Can One Person Do?” His answer to that is simple: “That’s a very good question, if you don’t do nothing at all.” Tempting as it is to close the blinds and pull the covers over our face, that’s not an option for followers of Christ.
We pray. We give. We reach out. We respond. We help to rebuild. We mend broken places. We speak words of change. We care. We love. We look out for our neighbors. We increase our awareness. We do small acts of kindness. We do the good we can, the good that is ours to do.
Or, as Andy put it, “If each one would just do what they could, working side by side, we could do a lot of good.”
So power up, friends. There’s work to be done.
<< Home