Dear Friends,
The story goes that Arnold was a postman in a remote rural community for the past twenty-five years. Because the community was so remote his daily route took him sixty-three miles, and he not only delivered mail, but also brought personal services to the residents. Anything you could buy in a post-office Arnold would deliver, and if anyone needed help Arnold could be relied upon to stop and do what he could. His was a very personal service and when he retired, he was sadly missed and the communities he served were diminished.
The theologian Karl Barth has this to say about the church and its service as an ambassador of the gospel to the world. ‘When the church becomes exhausted with self-serving, the decisive reason for its existence has been forgotten’. The great commission that Jesus gave to his people was this. ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’.
As part of the living church in this place, we have been called to serve, not ourselves but those who are in need both near and far. We are all called to preach the gospel in word and action, and to love the people. It is as we can do that and inspire others to do likewise, that we will be fulfilling our calling. But there is more to it than that, for as we fulfil our calling to the best of our ability we will also be enabled to thrive and to grow.
Karl Barth goes on to say ‘Christianity is not sacred and set apart from the world. Rather, there breathes within it the fresh air of the Spirit of God that enables it to serve the world in its need with love’.
With love and blessings,
Marion