I feel like I need to fasten my seatbelt every time I get an update from Tim Scheuer, who’s leading one of our Local Mission projects in Airds, in South-western Sydney. Our last conversation featured story after story of people coming to faith in the small groups his team has started for people who want to know more about relationship with God. There are twelve of them operating now! Every week several new people commit their lives to Jesus.

The conversation before, Tim was trying to catch his breath after dealing with a young man who had lost control and caused all kinds of alcohol-fuelled havoc around the neighbourhood. Seems like it’s never a dull moment in Airds.

A conversation with Ray Flint, who’s working in Forbes North, is less frenetic – but it’s always seasoned with stories of people hearing the Good News of Jesus and responding, contrasted with of the messes people have created for themselves, their families and their community.

Ian Metz has just completed his ‘tour of duty’ in Australia and is heading back to his native USA. Talking with Ian over the last few months as he handed over his responsibilities with Koolamon restoration, it’s been a roller coaster ride of joy as people commit their lives to Jesus and work through the steps of recovery, and sorrow as people fall back into their old ways, returning to their addictions and destructive behaviours.

While these three local mission projects look almost nothing like each other, there’s a common thread. People - getting involved in the sometimes messy lives of those who don’t yet know Jesus, and intentionally sharing the Good News by their words, actions and attitudes.

God seems to have a high tolerance for messy-ness of life. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” says John - neat, clean, elegantly put. Matthew goes into unpleasant detail surrounding the arrival of the Messiah – Mary’s pregnancy is suspect and a divorce in narrowly averted. Hurriedly married, Jesus’ parents make the long journey to Joseph’s hometown. The guest room is full and the newlyweds doss with the livestock. Mary gives birth – the baby is laid in a trough . God enters the world bloodied, naked, and screaming. Sometime later there’s a political storm, a murderous plot, a hurried escape and a massacre. God-in-flesh is spirited to a foreign land, while a whole community is plunged into inconsolable grief.

God became a missionary in the flesh, born into a world of suspicion and misunderstanding, fear and pain, jealously and grief. As an adult Jesus gravitated to the poor, the down-trodden, and the outcast with the pain and mess that surrounded their lives.

Ken Morgan