Keep in Mind

Had a recent conversation about something that has been on my mind lately over the past year or so. The thought came from a book I read by Rich Stearns, CEO of World Vision, called "The Hole in the Gospel." The book is a compelling call to action for every Christ follower to be an agent of change, a help to the poor, and visible representation of Christ's love to a hurting world. Stearns made the point that if you were to cut out all the verses in the Bible that had to do with "justice", you would have a tattered, torn apart, and fragmented Bible. You would have a HOLE in the gospel.

Compassion and fighting for justice are foundational to what it means to follow Christ. But, I had another thought that has been on my mind.

The young generation in the church is captivated by this call to action. High school students and twentysomethings seem to jump at the idea of "making a difference!" (Which is an incredibly awesome thing). But, we must remember that it starts first with the salvation part of the gospel.

God is the source of our energy to change the world. If we forget that we are broken people who need grace and forgiveness, we can lose our motivation. If we don't have an intimate relationship with the one who created and saved us, then we are merely activists. Nothing wrong with being an activist, but our energy will eventually dry up.

I believe it will be important for the emerging generation to continue to grow in their love for God AND the causes that result from that love. We will be passionate about helping others because of our gratitude for the way God helped (and is helping) us. If we aren't careful, we will have another hole in the gospel that will be tough to remedy.