2009 Letter No 07

Each month Bill writes a pastor's letter for our monthly church magazine called 'The Messenger'. Here is the letter for July:

We are coming towards the time when we will draw up a plan of action for the church regarding our involvement in God’s mission locally. This is where the consultancy process has been leading. And it is quite right that we will talk about programmes, activities and initiatives. However, let us be careful that in talking about programmes, activities and initiatives we don’t forget the words of Jesus when he was asked about the greatest of the commandments.

When Jesus was asked to identify the most important act of obedience for God’s people he replied that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind and that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves. (See Matthew 22: 34-40, and similar passages in the gospels of Mark and Luke.)

Over the years I have come back to this saying of Jesus again and again, and have become more and more convinced of its central importance in Christian living. What is most essential for us to do? Love God and love others.

A couple of years ago, when I was away at the Heart of England Baptist Association Ministers Conference I was praying about the ministry I exercise as pastor here. God brought me back again to this passage. I sensed him calling me to draw close to him and to draw close to the people. There were no great revelations beyond that, but it was a reminder that love of God and love of neighbour are foundational in the Christian walk. But they not only provide the foundation. They are the means of the Christian life and the goal of the Christian life. Love needs to be the beating heart at the centre of all our involvement in ministry and mission. The apostle Paul went so far as to say that without love we are nothing and we gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3).

We are called and indeed commanded to love God and love our neighbour. So we engage in mission because we love God. It pleases God when we declare to others the beauty of his character, his wonderful deeds and the freedom we have found in Jesus. It honours his name when we reflect his character in acts of love and service. And, of course, we love God because he first loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4: 9-10, 19).

And we also engage in mission because we love our neighbours. There is good news in Jesus that can and does transform lives. It is selfish to keep such news to ourselves. And because we love our neighbours we do not merely want to speak good news, but to be good news – to display the love of God, which has been poured into our lives, in practical ways.

If loving God and loving our neighbour are so essential to true Christian mission, and indeed to the whole Christian life, then how do we nurture such characteristics in our own lives? Loving God and loving others are much easier said than done, but the first step is to be intentional about these things. Spend time with God, asking him to rekindle our love where our hearts have grown cold. And when we truly draw close to God we will also begin to share his heart for the world. Love for our neighbour does not necessarily lead to love for God, but true love of God will always lead to love of our neighbour.