To Seek and To Save

30 Day Church Challenge, Day 25
Read pgs 128-131

"He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."  2 Corinthians 5:18-20

Until reading today's devotional from our 30 day guidebook, I'm not sure I'd ever heard the story of Maximilian Kolbe.

What about you?

In short, he traded his life for another prisoner's, inside of Auschwitz concentration camp.

The saved man, "Gajowniczek," later said, "...I was stunned and could hardly grasp what was going on.  The immensity of it:  I, the condemned, am to live because someone else willingly and voluntarily offered his life for me -- a stranger."

Our theme this week is, "outreach," or as we've talked about it at Shepherd of the Hills, "serving."

The pattern of our faith is the ultimate example of serving that we find in Jesus of Nazareth.

John 13 tells us that "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his control," and then he gets up, takes a towel and basin, and washes the feet of his disciples.

This is the template for our faith, along with the very cross of crucifixion.

When I was a seminary student, I had the privilege of taking a class with the great Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  He told us that the world could change if the followers of Jesus really believed that all people were made in the image of God.  He said, "we would stop on the street and bow to each other, to the image of God that lies within."

Tutu understands evil.  He is no soft-headed person who thinks that life is a fairy tale.  He has seen evil and cruelty on a scale and in a way that almost none of us from the United States ever have.  And yet he still believes that serving, sacrifice and outreach to others is worthy...because every person is a child of God.

What do we believe?

Grace, Peace, and Service,
Adam

Today's Small Step:  In one or two sentences, write down why you believe God wants you to reach out to reach out to your neighbors.

Today's Big Idea:   How would my life be different without the sacrificial outreach of Jesus?