Transformation from the Home
There are some people you meet that challenge your Christian commitment, not by their words and eloquent sermons, but how they choose to walk out their faith. Two such people are our friends, Andrew and Ginnie Cutler who live in Exeter. Ginnie was Judith’s Bible College friend 40 years ago.
A few weeks ago we had the privilege of being in their home and seeing first hand how very naturally as they go about their daily business, they are posturing themselves to being conduits of the Kingdom. They may not articulate it in those words, but that is exactly what they are doing.
Andrew is currently a worker for the Salvation Army in Exmouth. On a daily basis, he is seeking to share God’s love with whoever he meets. He often uses the local coffee shop as his office, not the church building.
Andrew is naturally friendly and has no problem in chatting easily to whoever he meets. However, his deep love for Jesus takes him beyond small talk to seeing how his life can impact the other person. There is a food bank in the Army building and through his contacts, they are touching many needy families in the community.
You may be reading this and thinking, well there is nothing very special there. Are not most churches reaching out in that way, especially now?
Perhaps the area of Ginnie and Andrew’s life which is more challenging/inspiring to us is the way they use their home. As soon as you meet them they are telling you about the person or people that they currently have living with them.
None are Christians, in fact, many of the people who have passed through their home would be of other faiths.
One such example would be a young Iranian lady who Ginnie met in a coffee shop one day. As Ginnie was sipping her double expresso she felt a prompt from the Holy Spirit to start a conversation with this young women. It transpired that she had just moved to Exeter from the USA to start work at the university and currently was struggling with finding suitable accommodation. Within just a few short minutes she was on her way to Ginnie and Andrew’s home, initially for a few days, but days turned into months. This story has been repeated many times.
Once a week a meal is prepared, invitations are given to neighbours, people they have talked to that week and friends of their house guests. All are welcomed and embraced as friends. Conversations about life and faith are naturally woven together. Each person feels valued and loved.
Ginnie and Andrew obviously put others first, inconvenience themselves to create an environment where Christ’s love can be experienced.
As the church gathering has been pretty much non-existent over the past 4 months I wonder if the scattered church has incredible opportunity to touch and transform its streets, through connecting more with neighbours and seeing our homes as a place of welcome and connection for a hurting society.
I’m challenged, how about you?