truth in love…in action

Too often the church is limited in the scope of what it considers ministry. We fall into the trap of thinking that the “ministries of the church” are what we do together at the place where the church meets or, at least, in the homes of the church members. Now, of course, those things are a part of the ministry of the church. But the ministries of the church should be so much more than that.

Point 1: The followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are the church. All followers of all time are the universal church. Those in a particular area who have committed themselves to the Lord and one another are a local church. Those are the only kinds of churches the Bible mentions. But…again…the church is THE PEOPLE.

Point 2: Wherever the church is it ought to be salt and light in the world.

Matt. 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

That is, every member of the church, wherever he/she is touching the community/world, ought to be “letting the light of Christ shine through them” into the darkness of the world. Our mindset ought to be that we are THE church ministering “justice and mercy and faithfulness” everywhere we go.

Matt. 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Mic. 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

We are the church. We are the church of the living Lord Jesus Christ. When we leave the “meeting place” we are still the church. He has chosen us and saved us and filled us with power from on high to go into the world and shine as light in the world so that the world will see our “justice and mercy and faithfulness” and give glory to our Father who is in heaven.