A Word on Awareness
I tell the following story not to toot my own horn but to demonstrate the power of the Gospel as it is working. Any minister worth their salt will tell you that the messenger doesn’t matter nearly as much as the message, and this story is no exception.
Recently, I presented a lesson at West Side on the concept of awareness. The lesson came from 1 Samuel 3, the account of Samuel hearing the Lord calling to him in the night for the first time. There are several levels of awareness at play in that story – Samuel’s awareness of the voice and of whose voice it is, Eli’s awareness of Samuel’s newfound position as a prophet and of the finality of God’s proclamation, and God’s perfect awareness of both people and the ways in which their lives will be used to fulfill His will. The applicable parallels present themselves readily in this case. Those of us who claim to be Christians should strive for awareness of the God who speaks to us, and should be driven to respond accordingly to Him. Those of us in leadership should strive for awareness of the ways in which we can lead most effectively, and should also be working to create a climate of openness and helpfulness so that our awareness is not in vain. Finally, it should be an immense comfort to us that God is always aware of where we are in life, the struggles and blessings that surround us, and the ways in which we can still accomplish His will in spite of our flaws. Awareness is quite the game- changer when it is truly embraced as a part of our faith and our identity as the people of God.
What I didn’t expect was for one of our deacons to respond to the invitation that morning asking for prayers with respect to all three of those points in various degrees. He confessed to me and to the congregation that he had been struggling much more than we had realized, and that he wanted to recommit himself to being part of the openness and helpfulness that a healthy congregation needs by starting with himself. His was one of the most genuine responses to the message that I have seen in a while, and one of the ones I have most appreciated. My fellow worker said much more than I could have about the value of awareness that morning by being aware of his own need for help and being willing to trust us to help him bear his burden and “so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
When I asked my friend if I could share his response in this article, his response was an enthusiastic yes. He has made multiple comments to me since that morning about how much better he feels now that he has opened up about his situation and has pledged himself to being a safe space for others to come to for help as well. Like I said, awareness is a game-changer in all the best ways.
The Bible doesn’t say that everyone in the church needs to know every detail about everything that is going on in everyone else’s life. The Bible DOES say that the church is a family that loves each other, and that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). People don’t have to feel comfortable sharing all of the specifics about their struggles with the whole assembly, but it would be a sad state for a congregation to be in when no one knows anything about what people are going through and are therefore powerless to help them. The powerful pairing of awareness and trust goes a long way towards a congregation being the best that it can be. That was what my friend realized when his heart was moved to respond, and it is what he has helped others to realize by
responding to it himself.
The Gospel challenges members of the Lord’s church to be aware of “the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22) and to respond to Him trusting in both His power and His mercy. The Gospel challenges elders within the Lord’s church to serve as both shepherds and overseers, creating an atmosphere of mutual awareness and trust that is based on their own willingness to lead and assist their flock with humility and love. The Gospel challenges all of us to recognize that God has a purpose for each of us, and to walk with awareness so that we can fulfill that purpose. In our various roles within His body, let the response of Samuel be our own:
“And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant hears.’” ~ 1 Samuel 3:10
AUTHOR: Luke Tatum
