Where's the Beef?

Gotta love that old commercial. That phase seemed to get a laugh no matter what context it was used. Essentially though - 'Where's the Beef?' means - what's the point? the central issue? the core of what we're talking about? the REAL problem? (the point of a hamburger isn't the bun or the cheese or the lettuce or ketchup ---- it's the BEEF! mmmmm beeeeeeefffff)

I recently asked myself "What's the beef?" with the church gatherings. What's the point of it? Just to hang out or eat or do work projects or share Bible verses & sing a few songs?

I have decided that the reason for these gatherings is resource consolidation. Kinda like the loose change in your pocket and how isn't enough to impact your appetite (yes, I'm still on the diet) since it's barely enough to buy a paper and a coffee. But, combine all the loose change from drawers, the car, laundry room etc - then maybe you can take your wife out to dinner - THIS makes an impact.

See, now I, for one, have never seen a penny not worth picking up. It doesn't matter if it is in a busy area, on the street, beside someone's foot or discarded on a counter (unless it's someone's tip - I don't take tips from servers). I've always felt that each penny was useful, not because of it's value alone - but because of it's value when combined with others. Find enough pennies, and you can go buy a book or a cd or go see a movie - lots of things.

In the same way anyone who isn't a part of 'the church' is also a person who isn't likely to make a spiritual (or eternally significant) impact on the world around them - but - put them all together, and they - like Gideon's Army - can change the world! And every penny counts, even the penny that your life represents! There are actually a number of scriptures that talk about 'gather the people', 'call an assembly', 'they all met together' - and it seems that when this happened, great things followed. Most notable of these events is Acts 2 when the church was given it's power to impact the planet.

I'm just happy to be a penny for the church, if it goes towards making difference in this world - then it's definately worth it.

Giving my 2 cents ....

Rob