Our scripture is from Colossians 3:12-14:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

When are we involved in God's mission?

Christians often think that only activity connected to the church is involved in God's work. The implication is that God is not interested in our daily lives. But this is far from the truth. In the beginning, we were made to be involved in the development of creation, in other words, to work it. That design has never been revoked. Despite human rebellion and sin's negative effect on our daily lives, Christians participate in God's grand mission of redemption as we live out our daily lives.

When we praise God by the excellence of our work, we are exercising our proper vocation. We are serving God in the way he called us to serve him. Church work is not more spiritual or more in tune with the mission of God than carrying out our daily tasks. Our main purpose in life is not to serve the church, but to serve God; sometimes we serve God by serving the church.

Our gathering for corporate worship is not separate from our work. The common prayer that we can lay aside the distractions of the week to focus on God is misplaced. God does not want us to ignore our lives when we worship. He desires that we bring all of that in with us. He wants to hear our thanksgiving for the good things we have encountered. He wants to hear the confession of words spoken and of actions that harmed him or a human or anything else he created. He wants to touch us in our brokenness and pain. He wants to hear our prayers for the grace to forgive, for strength to resist temptation, for patience for that difficult person, for wisdom for that complicated problem.

Christian, you are on the leading edge of God's mission of redemption as you live in retirement, as you inhabit your situation for earning an income, as you live together as a family. The Holy Spirit is present with you always, nudging you towards the way of Jesus' kingdom, so that you embody love's kaleidoscope: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, a capacity to forgive.

The mission of God includes the renewal, restoration and reformation of all things (Colossians 1:19-20). Vocations in business, medicine, poetry, engineering, counselling, chemistry, marketing, construction, and finance all have a role to play in Christ's cosmic work of reconciling all things. As you live this week, gather a basket full of things you will bring with you the next time you gather with God's worshipping community.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

Wherever God takes you today, may He fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that you may live carefully—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.

A Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Acts 1:1-11. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

Dive In

1. Take a stab at defining Christian communal identity.
2. What comes to mind when you hear the words 'mission' and 'missionary'? How should we understand it?
3. The disciples ask Jesus about the kingdom. How does he shift their focus?
4. Four responses to the Holy Spirit were mentioned: which one comes easiest to you, which is the most difficult? How will you respond to the Spirit this week? Pay attention to the way the Spirit is moving in your life.
5. What does it mean to be a witness to Jesus? What should the church be devoted to?

Our text is Deuteronomy 15:1, 4-5:

"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts…there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today."

Old Testament laws are not always easily applied to us because they concern Israel as a nation state. These laws about the Sabbath year, when debts are cancelled and land is returned to the families it was originally given to, are such instructions. We live in a very different context and economy.

However, we should not pass them by too quickly. Our economy is largely rooted in the principles of scarcity. We are all in competition for limited resources. But that is not the way it was meant to be. The creation was able to provide for its creatures. The land Israel received as a gift from God was able to provide sufficient resources for each Israelite. "There need be no poor people among you."

This was rooted in a deep belief that God would provide. Sabbath was, at least in part, a space of deep joy and celebration for Israel because life was secure in their covenant Lord. As such, this weekly rest from work, offered room for generosity to bloom in the hearts of God's people. If God provided, then his people could provide for those who had less. Israel was to be a nation of generosity, just like the God who had freed them.

This generosity is a quality that grows in those who follow Jesus. Luke's description of the early church includes this, "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need" (Acts 2:44-45). And two chapters later, this is added, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had" (4:32).

Those who take time for Sabbath, who learn to rely on God, find themselves growing in generosity. The authors of the Heidelberg Catechism understood this. They teach that "especially on the festive day of rest, I regularly attend the assembly of God's people" to, among other things, "bring Christian offerings for the poor" (A 103).

Israel's generosity was rooted in her memory of slavery from which God redeemed her (15:14-15). In the same way, "God's indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15) is the source of our generosity.

In an economy of scarcity, generosity is foolish. For those who 'rest' as an act of faith in the God who provides, there is space for generosity to take root. Sabbath keeping is a pause that refreshes us and can transform society.

As you journey on, hear Jesus' invitation:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).