At the very heart of serving our community is change. We serve. We connect. We encourage. Then change happens. People really don’t care what you know until they know how much you care. But after they know you care something else takes place. Change. Change does not happen without an agent of change, a force.
In physics, a force (agent of change) is any influence that causes a free body to undergo a change in speed, a change in direction, or a change in shape. As we serve our community we encounter people speeding in directions that maybe causing their lives to be shaped in ways that they do not desire any longer. As they grow to “know we care” about them by the way we serve them, they may ask us to help make changes in the speed in the direction and ultimately the shape of their lives.
In John 4:1-42 is a story of change. This took place as one person was shown the unconditional love of another, a change agent. The force of unconditional love through the life giving nature of Jesus Christ changed the speed and direction of a woman’s life and ultimately shaped her future and her community.
I’m not sure, but she may have had some thoughts like these.
She came to a well to get water in the middle of the day. “It is very hot this time of the day, so hopefully no one would be there to ask me any embarrassing questions about my life”. But there was someone there. She saw him as she approached. It was a man. “It would have to be a man. And not only a man, judging by his clothes a Jewish teacher. He’s alone. Good. At least he doesn’t have a bunch of snobby disciples hanging around him. I wonder if I should just turn around and go back? If I come back at the end of the day this place will really be crowded and I can’t bear all the looks and fowl comments. Well, I’m too far to turn back now so I might as well go ahead and face this. I’ll make it quick and hopefully he won’t pay me any attention.”
Maybe any other day, but not that day!
Because what she found was a life giving force of love. And he changed not only her life, but she became an agent of love. She became life giving. We know this because her fear of the people of her community was replaced with love. She was so changed that she over came herself and became an agent of change.
David and Vanessa W. are life giving agents of change. How do they do it? One plate and one life at a time. Every Saturday morning for years, they cook and serve breakfast to the homeless in downtown Bradenton, Florida. Every year they have influence that grows. The kind of influence that creates life giving change. They have change lives for years.
Just like Jesus, they only needed one person to serve to become an agent of change and make a huge difference. So this week, who is your one?
You only need one to change an entire community and remember...
Be Life Giving,
Alex Anderson
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