To Hell in a Hand-basket…Is Anyone Else’s Greatest Hits of Christianity Sounding like a Broken Record?

[The following is a guest post by Lyssah. She's a great writer and has been a part of this community for a long time. Please dive in and dialogue as she definitely brings it in this post!]

My house is a mess! It’s dirty, junk is everywhere. 

My kids are running around half clothed, out of control and I can’t tell the last time they have taken a bath. 

The living room is falling apart, holes in the ceiling, the recliner won’t un-recline anymore. 

Really, it's just beyond enduring…why doesn’t someone do something about this!
Better question…why don’t I?

"Wait, we’re all intelligent people, I can smell a simile a mile away…no one is really that ridiculous, so what kind of metaphor are you trying to sneak in?"

Glad you asked.

So often, I hear believers complaining about the state of the world.

"People have lost all respect; our government is in the toilet; everywhere I turn, someone wants a handout."

Basically, the same song in a different key: The world is going to hell in a hand basket…why
doesn’t someone fix it?

Many times, we want to blame God.

On some level, we figure the depravity and lack that threatens the world is his fault. We tend to forget what he told us in Genesis 1:28-29…oh yeah, delegation.

Pre-fall, doesn’t count.  Not so fast, in Genesis 3:17-19, God amends the command…we’re still stewarding the earth, only now, it’s difficult and takes effort.

But going beyond a commandment to steward, there is a heart that has been entrusted to us. Matthew 25:31-45. Our stewardship of the “least of these” reflects our reception of Christ. 

We’ve been given a mandate to steward and we’ve been entrusted with the Redeemers heart of love.  If we don’t act as believers to see his kingdom come and his will be done, who will? 

As Christians, we have a responsibility to the world around us…to live right, to act justly, to love mercy and to be an extension of Jesus to them. 

When Jesus was confronted with a need, he acted…healing the sick, feeding the hungry, loving the
outcast. 

How can we think our role is any less, when he himself said in John 14:12-14:
“Greater things than these because I go to the father”? 

But we have let following Christ be watered down to sitting in a building on Sunday and ignoring his heart throughout the week.

It seems as life goes on, the arenas the church is pulling out of are the ones that need the greatest presence. We have no right to complain about what we are willing to tolerate.

Questions:
If I'm honest, I've complained about _____ while tolerating it. Why?
What are you doing/can you do for the "least of these"? What are some arenas we as believers can be more active in?
--
His servant and yours-
Lyssah

[Please share Lyssah's post. You can follow her on twitter. I'd also recommend checking out her great blog here. If you'd like to guest post on the blog, please send me an email through the contact page. Thanks]