Devotion: Reach
Reach
“I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
Is there something you just have to do? Can you reflect on a time when you, despite all reasonable logic, participated in that which seemingly made no sense, but brought you a sense of satisfaction?
One morning when I lived in town, I was driving through the neighborhood on my way to work, and I saw a heavyset boy on a bike, and that three older and more fit boys had stopped him. They pulled him off his bike, pushed him to the ground and threw the bike to the side. I drove by and saw the look of terror on the young man’s face. My heart sank.
Without a thought, I stopped the car. I got out and walk towards the group. A voice came out of my mouth which sounded eerily like my own father’s voice. “Knock it off! Let him go!” The older kids took off in every direction. I got to the frightened one, who by that time had stood up. “You okay?” “Yes…”. “You sure?” “Yes…” “Do you need me to call someone?” “No. I’m okay.”
When I got back to my car I began to sort through my emotions. You see, I was the least popular kid in school. I was regularly teased and bullied – although admittedly, I wasn’t physically bullied very often. In those days, it was common for fists to fly on the playground and I was known for always fighting back. My life in elementary school was filled with hardship. I survived, but it was a fight.
The two things that I remember from that morning were how I could not keep myself from helping that boy. And that I intervened as much for myself as for him.
I had to help. I couldn’t not stop myself. Helping that bullied boy brought me the satisfaction of making a difference in his life. And it made me whole, knowing that this was what I was supposed to do.
In these days we are talking about reaching in worship at Sheridan. And we are exploring God’s truth that a good work gets begun in us that we only ever accomplish when we do what Jesus models and calls us to do – namely to serve others. As we study Philippians throughout this series, we will see that, for the Apostle Paul, the Christian life is all about outreach.
Outreach is what we must do. It is what we are compelled and called to do. We can’t not reach out. And we do this for the sake of others, but mostly we reach out to be made whole, ourselves.
Let us pray…
Jesus, we pray that you might compel us to finish the work you have started in us. Bring us to the place, we pray, when we so feel your power that we have to live beyond ourselves. Give us the spiritual strength and determination for outreach. Amen.
Written by Pastor Greg Bouvier
Pastor Greg heard God’s call to Sheridan in 1999 and that began a journey which has become his life’s work. Having played a variety of roles as pastor of Sheridan, Pastor Greg was called as the Senior Pastor in 2011. He leads the staff and his primary focus is on the creation of culture, the overall direction of worship and partnering with our amazing team. Pastor Greg has been married to Rose for more than 30 years and together they have two servant-hearted grown children.