In Luke 22, so much takes place before Jesus heads to the cross. He knows the cross is coming, and he knows it is going to be painful. He also knows that the pain is going to be worth the outcome in the end. So vividly was his understanding of what he was going to face that verse 44 says, “He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” All the while, those who followed him, who swore to give their lives for him, who worshiped him, slept. Being on this side of the resurrection, we can praise the Lord that Jesus did hard things for you and me.

I would like to report to you that the Leadership Board is working on some very exciting and culture changing, church transforming, administrative things at this moment, but we are not. What we are working on is filling the holes in our administration so we can free up the energy to do the sexy things. We are putting together a financial policy, making a Strategic Plan for our building and maintenance needs, and finishing up an Employee Handbook. Sometimes, we must do things we don’t want to do so that we can do the things we want to do.

We want to work on increasing congregational giving by 20%. We want to make intentional connections with our African American siblings and the Hispanic community. We want to become a vital ally in the LGBTQIA+ community, starting with the Quaker Valley School District. We want to support the youth program as they get up and running. We want to expand the music ministries of the church. That is a lot of wants, but those are our God-sized goals. There is no small thinking here. As the Leadership Board, our job is to do the unsatisfying work (i.e., policy creation, in my opinion) so that those in leadership positions within our church’s ministry have the energy, the resources, and the support to do the things God is calling us to do. We find the resources needed to do fun things.

None of the work that God is calling us to is going to require us to sweat blood, but it might not always be glamorous. We do it because we are so thankful for what Jesus has done for us. We do it because we want others to know this love of Jesus that held him to the cross, that sent him to the grave, that rose him to life once again. That is at least one hard thing we won’t have to do. Jesus has defeated sin and death for you and me. Now we respond by doing all we can to share this good news with others.

What hard thing have you been putting off lately? What are you not doing that you know Jesus is nudging you to do because it doesn’t seem all that interesting? In a time of just about every modern convenience we can think of and every form of constant entertainment we dream up, the temptation to do the easy things is real. However, the easy things are not usually the most rewarding things. Jesus didn’t promise it would be easy, but if we follow the will of God, it will be easier. This is true no matter how unpleasant it may seem right now. Amen!

From one light to another,
Pastor Hannah Loughman

Photo by Jillian Kern