Here’s the last thing, I think, I’ll write about salvation and the law for a while. It’s a huge topic with lots of talking points, lots of opportunity to get into the weeds, and plenty of far-reaching ramifications. But I like to follow the lead of our Lord and boil it down to everything hanging on love. All the law and the prophets, everything God ever taught or ever thought, all of God’s plans for his people and his creation–it all hangs on love.

“Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another, for the one who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” ~Romans 13:8-10

Here’s a bottom line deal for you. If you do not love everybody, then you have to deny all the most basic things all Christians believe. If I harshly criticize anybody, if I refuse to forgive anybody, if I discriminate in any way, if I ignore or neglect anybody, if I make any move to harm anyone for any reason, then I have to reject almost all the basic points of Christian belief.

We believe that all men and women are created by God in the image of God. All men and women. Period.

We believe our God loves all people. All people. Period.

We believe Jesus died on the cross because God wants all people to be forgiven and saved, including you and your neighbor, equally.

We believe in treating others the same way we want to be treated.

We believe our God calls us to show his divine love to all people everywhere–no exceptions.

Serving others in love keeps all the commands. Serving others in love makes all the beliefs real–not just something we know in our heads, but something we live with our lives, that changes us and fulfills the eternal will of our God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We were delighted to welcome Josh Ross to GCR Church this past weekend to train our adult Bible class teachers on “The Spirit Poured Out,” a twelve-week curriculum he wrote for us on the person, presence, and power of God’s Holy Spirit. Of course, it’s excellent. And I am beside myself with hope and anticipation for the conversations we’re going to have and God’s will we’re going to wrestle and the formation that’s going to happen in and through our congregation during the next three months.

I believe our church recognized in Josh what Carrie-Anne and I have known for years: his uncompromising commitment to our Lord and the ways of Christ and his unwavering love for God’s people. It’s infectious.

Carrie-Anne and I have known Josh and his family for more than 25 years. Josh’s dad, Rick, was the preacher at the Mesquite CofC when Carrie-Anne and I began worshiping and serving there in October 1999. Rick was the first preacher I really listened to, the first guy in a pulpit who connected the dots for me and, more than that, the first preacher whose life I noticed clearly reflected a commitment to Christlikeness. Josh’s mom, Beverly, became a mentor and friend for Carrie-Anne in ways that still profoundly resonate in Carrie-Anne’s walk with Jesus and in our marriage and family. Josh’s big sister Jenny and her husband David became very good friends of ours–I was driving to Houston with David to see the Astros and Giants on the morning of 9/11. Josh and his younger brother Jonathan were these two dynamic young men who had a fire for the Lord and a passion for discipleship and obvious gifts for speaking and leading in God’s Kingdom.  This was the setting–the time and place and people–God used to call me into congregational ministry.

The first time we went to the Tulsa Workshop, it was with Rick and Beverly and Jenny and David. And it was mind-blowing. Earth-shaking. Paradigm shattering. I started organizing  men’s retreats at Mesquite. I led a 24 Hours of Prayer at Mesquite. I taught that Room 201 Bible class. We sat behind Jason and Tiersa, next to Chris and Liz, in front of Brian and Terri. I led worship at Mesquite. We started that Second Saturday Servants. I rappelled out of a second-story air conditioning vent into the worship center for a VBS bit. The Four Horsemen made those vows to each other and our families and started those Wednesday night dinners and those Tuesday morning Bible studies. I started reading John Mark Hicks and C.S. Lewis. Those three years at that church were the most intensely formative times for Carrie-Anne and me in our discipleship to Jesus. That Mesquite church was a dysfunctional mess, but our gracious God used that church and those people at that time to transform me into a proclaimer of his Good News.

It’s not Josh’s fault, but in my mind and my heart he is forever connected to that time and place and people that still mean so much to me. So, I just absolutely love the guy. We had a blast hanging out together this weekend, and I know our church at GCR is going to be blessed for the next three months and beyond as we dive into his material on the Holy Spirit. As Josh told us several times, we don’t need a perfect understanding of the Holy Spirit, but we do need a working understanding.

I thank God for the gifts he’s given his servant Josh and for Josh’s eagerness to share those gifts with GCR this weekend. I thank God for the whole Ross family and the eternal impact they’ve had on me and my family. And I thank God for that Church of Christ in Mesquite.

Peace,

Allan