Following Jesus, We Love God and Neighbor
We walk by faith not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7
“Following Jesus, we love God and neighbor.” The St James mission statement. When I came to St James and learned of the congregations’ mission statement it reminded me of this verse in 2 Corinthians. To me, our mission statement reflects these words of Paul. It describes that both our personal and collective faith journeys are founded in the truths of scripture and a confidence that God is “Immanuel with us,” guiding and leading us to be ambassadors of His grace within our church community and the communities we serve.
In Paul’s letter he is teaching the believers the importance of understanding how living out their faith is critical to reach potential Christians. Educating those who have come to the churches of that time – young in faith, still struggling with what it means to live in Christ. But the believers were on their journey as well. Verse 6 in this letter reads, “So we are always of good courage; we know that while in the body we are away from the Lord,” that precedes the “walk by faith” statement. I believe that Paul is saying that life isn’t easy. While it is an easy intellectual exercise to agree that we walk by faith – it can be difficult not to succumb to the world.
Don’t we sometimes live by sight – impacting our emotions, or our feelings, or influenced by worldly ideals – especially when life’s trials and difficult circumstances challenge our faith walk?
Walking by faith in this life means we are increasingly reliant on all that God has said in His Word. Trusting the Lord with all our hearts and engaging the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to filter our thoughts, actions, attitudes, and words. When we live by faith, we discover that God uses all circumstances and experiences – good and bad, to conform us to the beautiful image of Christ. And when we live by faith, we stay in fellowship with the Lord, and become sources of healing and comfort in the lives of others facing similar difficulties. Faith allows obstacles to be changed into opportunities to witness the generous grace of God – bringing us back to our mission statement.
Faith – grace given, trusted as certain, key to our salvation and eternal life, and necessary to live a victorious Christian life now.
Father God, thank You for my salvation. Help me walk by faith, to live by faith, to pray in faith, and to trust in Your Word of truth. I pray that I might rest entirely on You and Your sufficient grace in all I say and do. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.