Our Burden - Why we care.
Our burden, our distinctives, and our next action steps all flow from our understanding of God’s design. As far as we can understand, the Bible makes it plain that God is bringing all things in Heaven and Earth to an appointed end. His design is to make known the fullness of His glory (the full range of who He is) so that all who trust Him might celebrate Him forever and ever. He created a perfect world. He ordained that that perfect world be overrun by sin. He then set out on a course of redemption in order to make the world all that it was designed to be and better. And His plan to do so is centered on His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus came. Jesus died. Jesus rose again. And from the time Jesus did all of that, this world has never been the same. Coincidence? We don’t think so. Billions have professed faith in this Savior. Sure, none of us have followed Him perfectly. And many have professed faith in His name without really following Him at all. But the evidence is too plain. Ordinary people from all walks of life have to come to faith in this Jesus. Something has happened. Something is happening. God is moving history to its appointed end–and He is using ordinary people like us.
Those ordinary people who believe in Jesus compose what the Bible calls the Church. Yes, it is through the Church, a union of imperfect people in a perfect Savior, that God aims to bless the world. Sure, His plan may not seem so neat and tidy to us, but it is still precisely as it needs to be. And our desire is simply to be a part of it.
In short, we care about the Church because we care about God and what He is doing in the world. We care about the Church because Jesus died for the Church. We care about the Church because Jesus died to perfect His Church and to make us a blessing unto the world.
What is our burden? Well, our burden is for the glory of God to be made manifest through His Church (and consequently, local churches). Our burden is to spread a passion for Jesus Christ by calling the Church (all professing Christians) to wholeheartedly seek Him. Our burden is to point the Church to her Savior, to lift Him up through various means in such a way that those who profess faith in the Messiah cannot help but pursue Him with a reckless abandon and sweetness of joy that testifies to His true worth. Our burden is simply to see Christians live as we ought and as we can–because of what Jesus has done. As far as we are concerned, nothing is greater. Too much is at stake. For God and His glory is at stake. We cannot help but care.
Next page: Our Distinctives - What we emphasize.
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