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What Can We Bring?

                When invited to someone’s home for a meal, most people ask, “What can we bring?”  Everyone likes to contribute something.
                Figuring out what to bring is easy when you are talking about a meal.  However, there are other situations where the answer is not quite as obvious.  We know that something needs to be done, but we do not know where to start.  We want to help, but we are not certain that we have anything to offer.  In those cases, scripture has one simple answer:  Bring your heart!  When we engage our hearts, we start a process that inserts God into the equation.
                Matthew 9:35-36 states that, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd”.  He did not judge or look down on them, rather felt compassion for them.  Jesus brought his heart and, by doing so, he not only changed their situation, but connected them to the heart of God.
                Later, just before his crucifixion, Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37).  Even though they were about to reject him, Jesus still loves them.  Though their hearts were hardened towards him, Jesus still offered himself because that is what they needed.  His heart for them changed the situation.
                 The apostle Paul could have disliked the church in Corinth.  They constantly fought and argued with him.  They questioned his motives and his teaching.  They even mocked him in public.  Yet, Paul never stopped caring for them.  In fact, in one of his letters to them he states that, “You yourselves… are written on our hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2).  He could have been angry or mean, but instead he brought his heart.
                When our hearts are involved, we see things from a different perspective.  When our hearts are involved, we become more concerned about relationships than with winning an argument.  When our hearts are involved, God’s love and power come into play.
                It may not always work and sometimes you must protect yourself, but change usually begins when we bring our hearts.

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