Sometimes it's all about The One

Summer is supposed to begin June 21st. It began for us with a bang on Saturday the 28th. That’s when a small team from Roswell, Georgia in the USA arrived to be with us for a week.

It was very good, though exhausting, as we had prepared a packed week of activities for children and families in the area in which we live – games, crafts, stories, balloons, face painting, football, races – the works. Even a Fourth of July Party! The intention was that people would get to know us better, would connect to our growing community, and above all, would become acquainted with the Jesus we serve.

At the beginning of the week, our good friend Johan Lukasse gave some useful advice. He said that when you begin a week like this, you want to reach as many people as possible. Your focus is on the numbers. You want the whole world to know about you and about the One you follow. But sometimes, he said, it’s not about the hundreds It’s all about the one.

In His life, Jesus had the amazing capacity to deal with the multitudes thronging around Him and also to be intimately concerned about each individual soul. He spoke about a shepherd who was prepared to leave ninety nine sheep behind because He wanted to go after the one. And, by the end of week, that’s the way it has turned out. We can see God specifically at work in the lives of one here and one there. How good is that!

And thanks to you, John Brown, and your watercolours. You sat out in the square each afternoon, painting. Young and old gathered around him to see water and colour on parchment merge into writhing, dancing, swaying trees. They communicated energy and emotion, and you had wise words to accompany your work. And when you created something that was yours, that was a small part of your soul, your inner being, and promptly gave it away to someone who was passing by, you exemplified that spirit of Grace that was in your Father God. That Spirit that was in Christ, and that gave of itself for humanity not expecting anything in return.

http://www.johnbrownarts.com/