This past Sunday I told my congregation that the bottom line in a relationship with Jesus was blessedly simple. I showed them how the two primary questions God is asking all the way through scripture are “Do you trust me?” and “Do you love me?” Analyze anything that happens in life, and you can discern one or both of those questions shining through, even through dark moments.
You get fired. God asks, “Do you trust me?”
You’re tempted to flirt with someone other than your spouse. “Do you love me?”
You get the promotion. God asks, “Do you love me?”
He tells you to serve in church, and you’re already busy. “Do you trust me?”
The purpose of your life is to answer those questions with a resounding “YES!” – and not just with your mouth. With your feet. With your actions. Both faith and love are dead in the water as nouns.
You wake up in the morning. You have a mission. God is going to ask you those questions over and over again: So, do you love him? Do you trust him? What’s the answer? The proof is found in your footprints, not in your good intentions. Its up to each of us to be brutally honest about what’s actually what.
And today Jesus showed me that standing even behind my God-given vision to mobilize God’s people to share Christ-centered community in their communities, is the heart of the matter: More than any particular shape of vision, God’s dream is to create for himself a people that love and trust him wholeheartedly. Because people who love and trust him focus their lives on his other two priorities — sharing life with others and investing in them. He showed me that I’ve been focusing on the shape of the vision instead of the heart of God’s passion.
Shauna said I look troubled. Maybe I am. Because I wonder where this will all lead.