During my time with God this morning I was reading in Paul's letter to the Galatians. In chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, Paul writes these words.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Weary. Synonyms: tired, worn out, exhausted, fatigued. Do you ever feel weary? I have to be honest, I'm growing weary of winter. We all grow weary sometimes. But Paul's encouragement is that we not grow weary of doing good, helping others, being a blessing.
I've come to believe that one of the greatest and most effective forms of outreach that we have as Christ followers is simply to "do good." When we express kindness and generosity, when we help another human being expecting nothing in return, it allows others to see and experience the love of Christ through us.
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Paul says "as we have opportunity let us do good." I want to encourage us to always be on the watch for opportunities. I believe God provides opportunities for us to love other and to do good every day. But we have to be living with eyes wide open, seeking and responding to those opportunities.
Paul also says in this verse that we are to do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of God. I think this is another important reminder. We certainly want to show love to those outside the church. But we must also be intentional in loving and caring for one another.
One of the places we see this happen in our church is through lifegroups. I'm in a weekly lifegroup. In our lifegroup we study God's word, we pray, we grow. But we also care for one another. There is a level of caring that takes place on Sundays around worship. But when we gather as lifegroups, we have the opportunity to really know what is going on in people's lives. It is in lifegroups that we support, encourage and help one another. If you are not already in a lifegroup, I would encourage you to get connected here. Not only is it a great way to grow in faith, but it is a place to love and be loved.
I'm proud of our church. I believe we love well. I've watched people from our church family, in the name of Christ, serve others sacrificially, help people in need, bless the world and one another. My prayer is that we look for every opportunity to love Jesus by loving and serving others. And I pray that we never grow weary of loving God, loving others and doing good.
In Christ,
Pastor Steve