One of the goals of Adventures is to “meet a felt need.” This is probably the easiest goal to achieve and the one that most mission teams enjoy. Using your hands and feet to serve others can be quite simple. Cleaning a yard, picking up trash, painting, and handing out food and drink to the homeless are admirable things to do. Mission groups can see the direct impact of these actions.
However, you don’t have to have faith in God to meet a felt need. Many people without any belief in a higher power often do “good deeds.” In fact, good deeds are sometimes considered their ticket to what they would claim as “salvation.” The Bible says, “faith without works is dead.” I wonder does God honor works without faith?
Cornelius was a Roman army officer who revered the God of the Jews. He was a man who gave generously to the poor. Yet, Cornelius had an incomplete revelation of God. An angel appeared to him and said, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering. Now send some men to Joppa, to summon a man named Simon Peter.” Peter came and told him, “In every nation God accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel – that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is LORD of all. Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.”
Believers in Jesus don’t do good works to achieve salvation. Jesus did all the necessary work for that on the Cross. Our works are based on our relationship with Christ. Because He cares for the poor, we do. Because He loves others, we do also. The Bible admonishes us to, “love your neighbor as yourself.”
For the Wisconsin team who came to NOLA and worked to meet the needs of those in the River Ridge community, I challenged them to see the “person” behind the need. It’s easy to clean a yard and walk away without acknowledging the person. We served several senior citizens who perhaps had needs that were unseen; some were lonely and some were grieving. Spending just a little extra time listening to them talk, getting to know a little about them and finding some connections are just as vital as the visible need that was met. Going the extra mile to understand someone’s story is important.
The young adults met the challenge. They listened and found some common ground with the person behind the need. I was so proud of them. I pray that the LORD will see their deeds and bring a greater revelation of Himself to them in return.
