ADVENTure - Grow
24 DAILY REFLECTIONS ON MISSION WITH THE LIGHTWAVE COMMUNITY
The Lightwave Community started from a project funded by Strategic Development Funding from the national church. As such there were all kinds of growth targets to do with numbers of people impacted. Ofcourse, it is great to make a difference to more people and targets can help us to be aware of what is working or not. But there are dangers too in counting numerical growth. In 1 Chronicles, God gets angry with King David for taking a census: This is probably because population counts gave rulers information about the size of the army they could muster, or of the income they could raise by taxation – At some level, the act of counting implied that the people belonged to the King and their importance was in the military or economic strength they had. However, in biblical thinking, people don’t belong to any King other than God and they are to look to God alone for strength.
There are several words for counting in Hebrew “limnot”, “lifkod”, “lispor”, “lachshov”. But when God, commands a census in Exoodus and Numbers, none of these terms are used. Instead the phrase used is “naso/se’u et rosh”, literally, “lift the head.” This is not a counting where the emphasis is on the size of the number. It is an act of care - lifting of the head to look into the face of each one to see that no-one goes unnoticed. A bit like the teacher who counts to check that everyone whom s/he took on the school trip has arrived safely back on the bus home. This is a counting because each and every one counts.
So when we fill in our data forms, it is important to remember this: We are not counting to claim strength in numbers. We are counting in order to care. If we count in this way, it will not lead us to a drive for numbers but to valuing growth in depth and faith and love in each and every person with whom we have contact.
“Put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2.1-3
Lord Jesus, help us to value people as you do. Help us to grow up into salvation together – growing in faith and hope and love. Amen