The Empowered ChurchChikamu

 “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading . . . The life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting. It is not a question of sanctification; but of something infinitely further on than sanctification, of faith that has been tried and proved and has stood the test.”  
-Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Before ascending to heaven, Jesus promised those who followed him an inheritance: a guide, advocate, and comforter. In sending the Holy Spirit, he provided us an indwelling companion to reveal spiritual truths, lead us into righteousness, and empower us to fulfill his calling on our lives—a calling that is both individual and collective.

Your Individual Calling—The Gospel of John records Jesus speaking to a crowd at the Mount of Olives, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

“Abide” (meno in Greek) means to remain, or stay, or continue. Jesus calls us to abide in Him. When we remain focused on Him, stay washed in His word, and allow His truth to comfort and nourish us, we abide. Out of that flows everything else. 

Our Collective Calling—Jesus calls the church to participate in God’s mission to restore all of creation. In His ministry, He shared God’s love through His words, His actions and His character, all to transform the lives of the people He met in whatever way they needed most.

Sometimes this involved healing them; sometimes it involved feeding them, and sometimes it involved talking to them about the things that were wrong in their lives. He valued and served the people He met in ways that enabled them to begin living a fuller life. And He instructed his disciples to “go and do likewise.” 

Jesus’s life shows us what restored relationships and life in the kingdom of God should look like. As Christians, we are called to follow Jesus’s example. He laid it out very simply in saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus’s call to love God and love our neighbor confronts us with a choice: will we abide? Will we intentionally act to bring glory to God? Will we choose to serve others over ourselves? Will we live a life of love that reflects Jesus’s call on our lives? 

We are the body of Christ, transformed to be more like Him and to do the things He did, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the helper that goes with us as we walk out our faith and journey to become more Christ-like. What a rich inheritance!