Instead, strive for God’s kin-dom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Luke 12:31
Today, in worship, we will dedicate our donations to Home2Homes. Shane and I are debating whether we will have the kids bring forward a representative wagon-full of our donations, or whether we will have them bring all the donations forward, so that they take over the entire front of the sanctuary.
We’ll probably go with the representative wagon-full for practical reasons (including that we have two cribs-toddler beds that might not fit down the center aisle). The dilemma makes me thing about our theme, “Making Space…” in a new way.
For me, making space means clearing things out–deciding to let go of objects that may have served a useful purpose in my life years ago. As we make space by clearing out, we are also enabling a differing kind of making space.
The linens and clothes and baby supplies we are donating to Home2Homes will help families and individuals to make a new space for their lives, as they move into an apartment or a room.
Home2Homes insists that our donations be in very good condition, so that these families can feel a sense of pride and claim the beauty of the new space they create.
Our gospel reading invites us to let go of our worry, and instead to focus on striving for the kingdom–the realm, the kin-dom–of God’s love. In the kin-dom of God’s love, there is enough for everyone, because we share what we have.
May we strive for this kin-dom in our sharing, in our letting go, in our making space to enable our neighbors to create beautiful spaces for living.
May we trust in your abundance, O God. May we share what we have. May we celebrate the creation of beautiful new spaces for our neighbors to live.