Have you ever been to a cross country meet? Standing at the finish line is one of the most beautiful things you can ever witness. It doesn’t matter if you come in first or last place. The crowd is there cheering and encouraging each and every runner.
This is what church is supposed to look like!
24 And let us consider each other carefully for the purpose of sparking love and good deeds. 25 Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10, CEB)
Throughout life, it is so easy to forget who we are in Christ. We find it easier to focus on the doubts and our mistakes. In our head we hear, “You can’t do it! Why would God love you? Why even bother to try?”
It is really hard to love like Jesus loves when we hear those voices in our head. We need to continuously be reminded who we are and our purpose here in this world.
This is one of the things we seek to live out at Barnitz and Mt. Zion Crossroads Churches. When we speak of Connecting People to Christ’s Love, we want people to know who they are in Christ.
Ephesians 1 reminds us so well that in Christ, we are made new and adopted into His family. Through His work, we are able to live out our lives that share His love with the world.
So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! (2 Corinthians 5:17, CEB)
You are loved so much and are a part of God’s great plan to bring His light to the world. In a world with so much darkness, we are to shine so bright! We do this by following Jesus, for Jesus said to follow Him is to love as He loves.
34 “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. 35 This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” (John 13, CEB)
You can do it! Keep it up! Way to go! Well done!
Those are the cheers the runner hears racing down that last stretch. May this be what you hear too as we continue Connecting People to Christ’s Love!
Blessings,
Pastor Matt
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