Loving Our Community
A few years back, our son Justus lost his best friend that he had received at the hospital when he was born: Baby Lion. The earth almost stopped spinning on its axis when this happened. We searched high and low. We did everything we could think of, flipping our house upside down and looking in every nook and cranny. Why? Because we know how much this meant to him.Thats what love does. It takes action.As a trio of 21st century poets once said, "Luv is a verb."[quote align="center" color="#999999"]Love is willing to take action.[/quote]If you are a Jesus person, you have the opportunity daily to put this type of love for your community and city into action.Jesus said that his followers were called to be salt and light (see Matthew 5:13-16). Salt and light both had impact and influence on what it came in contact with, just as Jesus expected his followers to have an impact and influence on their world.I never want my community to be a place that I just work, live and potentially go to church in. Hopefully our community becomes the place that we LOVE.Not a 'love' with just warm feelings.Not a 'love' with an affirmation just about it's qualities and characteristics.Not a 'love' with how it meets all of the needs of our lives.I'm talking about a love that moves us toward action. To make a difference. To care. To be present. To be the extension of Jesus and his love, grace and mercy. A love that moves and equips our communities and cities to become all they can be. I saw a recent post from a friend that said,
You'll never make a difference in a city you don't love.
Powerful truth. The simple fact is that if you don't care for something, you'll never serve or sacrifice to make it something better.I love our community and I want to love it more. I want to see its full potential come to life. I want to take action to make a difference. I want to make sure that those who feel like they are invisible are noticed and their needs are met.And I want the same for you and your community, city and region. This weekend, Life Center Baker will be giving out 1,750 backpacks filled with school supplies to families in need. Why? Because we LOVE our community, our city and the (253). We are not the first or the only ones to do this. That isn't the point. The point is to love our city!If Life Center is your church, I would love for you to be a part of this practical way of loving our friends in our community and city! Join us!Back to Baby Lion... the good news is that eventually we found him (AFTER we found a replacement online and had a new one shipped... from England). The Original Baby Lion was lost at a park down the road and spent 4 months of winter cold and alone. But he was found! And you can guarantee that Justus is now happy to have TWO Baby Lions!