In the Gospel we see a Jesus who deliberately hung out with undesirable people. He was found in the company of tax collectors and prostitutes. Love means that we too are called to be vessels of God’s truth and goodness in a not so god-friendly culture.

It’s easy to love when all goes well, but when we find ourselves being driven apart over opinions and lifestyles... how do the Great Commission and the Great Commandment come into play to accomplish God’s plan?

As we recap our series, we have to ask ourselves: Why is it that so many of us are still emotionally unhealthy or immature in such important areas? So much is at stake here. It’s time to grow up - together.

Ignoring rest can be the root of a host of other problems. If God himself thought that much about stopping from his work in Genesis, then how much more should we pay attention to this marvelous gift?

How will God love the broken and hurting, the single moms, our neighbors, the disadvantaged, or the public schools without us being involved?

The emotionally stunted person tries to rush past grief and find a quick end to pain. This short-circuits God’s work of expanding our capacity for empathy and compassion towards those around us.

Somehow we feel that we are not good enough, our job’s not good enough, or our lot in life is not good enough. But to live wise is to know how those boundaries apply to our lives, call, and season in his grand plan of redemption.

What does it mean to live openly and honestly with others? Are we a safe place where people can come out of hiding and be healed? Where truth and grace are our practice?

How do we move forward to what is promised to us? Sometimes we must begin the journey by first looking back from where we came.

“Image is everything.” But our image is only a thin slice of who we really are. Like an iceberg, taking an honest look at what lies below the surface is where true wholeness can begin.