Day 31

A friend of mine runs a big company. He rescued it from failure and is steering it towards success. He is not even 40 and already he’s got the world beneath his feat. A few weeks ago he and his family (wife and two small kids) went to visit one of the many nearby slums. They stayed with the locals and slept in a shack.

They shared life with the men, women and children the world neglects.

No sleeping bags.

No heaters.

No burglar bars and high tech alarm systems.

No credit cards and extra cash for just in case.

Just poverty and life.

His kids played with the children of the slum. His wife walked, talked, laughed and cried with the women of the slum. He had beer and conversations with the men of the slum.

“Why, for God sakes?” I hear someone asks. “They must be crazy. This is Africa, how irresponsible.”

But then the words of the Counter Cultural Rebel Prophet cuts through the bones of scepticism:

“Good news to the poor, always good news to the poor.”

When the life of a powerful and successful CEO becomes enmeshed in the desperate and vulnerable life of people barely holding on, the Good News of Jesus becomes flesh and bones. When the CEO goes back and rearranges his life in terms of values and lifestyle, the power of the Life Giving Spirit kicks in. When this new way of living becomes the reality of some of the friends of the CEO, then something the ancient followers of Jesus called Church, evolves. And when this new type of community gathers steam and rolls down the hills of stereotypes and prejudices towards the valley of understanding, respect and love, a revolution called the kingdom of God is at hand.

Jesus said something about us doing more than he ever dreamed of doing, something bigger and deeper. Something that’s good for all mankind. I think the stuff my friend, his wife and their two children are up to might just be what Jesus hoped his friends would be doing long after he’s gone.