A Different Kind of Builder

written by Peter Willson On April 8th this year Tim Robertson from Compassion gave us the example of the Good Samaritan from Luke Chapter 10 as someone who was prepared to use his resources for the benefit of others. When looking at the battered form of the man on the road to Jericho, Tim told us that ‘The Priest and Levite saw the need and asked, what will happen to me if I stop but the Samaritan saw the need and asked what will happen to him if I don’t stop’. A powerful example of love, service and sacrifice through Jesus’ use of parable. I am certain that many of his hearers would have walked the road to Jericho and recognised the fear of peril on a road notorious for banditry; the need to hurry, move on and avoid a similar fate. Yet Jesus turns us round to show us that we too have the resources to help if only we would stop.As I faced retirement from the NHS, Janine and I did not picture that we would be taking on the maternity leave of Carly and become joint volunteer operations managers at KCK. We wanted to volunteer – Yes. Maybe we could do a few things, help out here and there, run the odd project. Yet the need was for an Operations Manager. We thought, we prayed and thought some more. Did we have the time? – Yes, did we have the resources? – Yes, could we meet the need – Yes; well, we could at least try. Has it been hard learning new skills? – Yes. Is getting up at 6.30am on a Sunday a pain in the neck – Hmm! Is lugging around stuff for Sunday tiring? – Zzzzzz. But the rewards of seeing church work for others are huge. We enjoy playing our small part in building this portion of the Kingdom of God, encouraging others and making Sunday work for anyone who turns up at the Rose.Serving for us is also an important part of being a disciple. Loving one another, Jesus says, is a demonstration of being one of his disciples and over the years under the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit serving has become less of a command and more of a lifestyle as we have recognised Jesus love for us and his church and the sacrifice he made to make us his disciples. Over the past few months we have seen the numbers attending KCK go down. Yet that work of building goes on and the need for builders stays the same. A challenge; just like the Samaritan – Can we see the need? I would encourage you to volunteer. There are many opportunities to do so at KCK – Come and talk. Peter Willsonpeter@kingschurch.com