Our Greatest Need

"This means it is never enough to address people's felt needs. Felt needs can be a good point to start because the gospel addresses the human condition in all its complexity. But people do not as a rule express God's judgment as a felt need. People are blind to their rue plight. They do not see their greatest need, which is to be reconciled to God through the gospel. If we do not keep people's eternal plight in mind, then immediate needs will force their way to the top of our agenda, and we will betray the gospel and the people w profess to love. The most loving thing we can do for the poor is to proclaim the good news of eternal salivation through Christ. It is by no means the only loving thing we can do for them, but it is the most loving thing we can do. It would be a crime of monumental proportions knowingly to withhold such good news." Total Church, Tim Chester and Steve Timmis