Still Loving God, Loving Others, and Serving the World

I have been thinking lately about the mission and purpose of our church: loving God, loving others, and serving the world. We didn't invent those. We simply pulled them from the instructions that Jesus gave his earliest followers.

As I observe my own life and the life of others with whom I come in contact, I am finding that Jesus was right (news, I am sure, that will be a great relief to him!). These three elements are what is important for a good life-- not a Christian life, or a religious life--but just a good life, a life that works.

We need to love God, we need to be spiritually formed. We need the assurance of love and acceptance even when the circumstances of our life and our world scream to us that we may not be loved and accepted. In loving God, and receiving God's love for us, we have a reason for living.

We long for community, to love others. We live in a society that is disjointed and isolated from one another. It is naive to think that all of our problems could be solved by just sitting down with one another, but I cannot think of a better place to start. We need each other.

And finally, we are called to serve the world. Somewhere along the over-2,000-year-long line, the idea developed that we come to church and watch the show and put our money in the plate to pay the staff to put on a good show and to do ministry for us. We imagine that our spirituality, our faith in God is for us--to comfort us, to inspire us, to help us through our week. That is a pitifully narrow, woefully unbiblical, and ultimately unfulfilling understanding of what the with-God life is all about. My faith is not just for me. From the prophets to Jesus to the early church, the teachings of those closest to the Divine reveal that faith results in action, in service.

Formation, community, service. Loving God, loving others, serving the world.

I am curious. Do you find those needs in your life? What other needs do you have that are met by your faith and/or participation in church? I would love to hear!