Phillip Yancey called grace “the last great word.” It is the one thing that differentiates Christianity from all other religions. Only Christianity presents the idea that God loves us unconditionally without strings attached, without demands, and without exceptions. Christianity alone dares to make the love of God unconditional. In the first century, people were categorized in a variety of ways as either good and bad. When Jesus came, He shattered that idea by the way he lived his life and taught. He changed the way people thought about God and about others.

The story of the early church is an epic account of how ordinary people changed the world. They were people that were invited in and sent out with a purpose, and they were bold and fearless in pursuing that purpose. As followers of Jesus, we are the church. May it be said of us today that we are as bold and fearless as the church was when it first began.

Everyone loves a good story. Stories create an opportunity to connect with people and communicate something in a compelling and persuasive way. Jesus taught his followers about the power of telling their stories. Everyone has a story of faith, and those stories carry the potential to influence people to take a step in the direction of faith.

Jesus invited his people to follow him so they could learn how to reach out to other people to bring them to faith. He believed that everyone could reach someone and that everyone should reach someone. Jesus invites all of us to live a life of significance, where our purpose is to influence others towards faith—others we reach through our jobs, our relationships, etc. Someone’s story of faith always begins with someone else. Whose someone are you?

When Jesus called his disciples, he called unschooled and ordinary men. He used these men to change the world and set up his church as a way for the gospel to shared. These men did not have to qualify, reach a level of academic achievement, have a certain pedigree, or background. They simply followed in the steps of Jesus and began to imitate him. These men had witnessed the life of Jesus and had been transformed by his love. This is how He chose to change the world. He invites us to love him by loving others and by making new disciples.

God wired each us with a longing to love and be loved, a desire to know someone and be known by someone. Whether or not we realize it, we all crave community with others. Relationships that are mutually beneficial make us wiser, sharper, and better versions of ourselves. The first century church was so compelling because it had ability to create and sustain community among diverse people. Community is inspiring to see, but the greatest power of community is in what it prevents. Community keeps us from living out the stories we don't want to tell.

If we understand that wisdom is the path to get from where we are to where we want to be, it is also vital to understand that no one can travel the path alone. Wisdom is a path that must be traveled with others because healthy relationships are a prerequisite to personal progress. Most of us know the power of relationships but don’t think about it very much in our day-to-day life. However, relationships have the power to get us from where we are to where we want to be, so perhaps it is something we should think more.

We all have stories about places we have been. Some are great, some are not so great. In addition, we all want to have stories to tell about the places we want to go. That is true in travel and life. In life we all want to go somewhere, but all too often we feel stuck where we are. If we think of the things we all want in life as destinations or places, a natural question arises: how do we get from where we are to where we want to be? The answer may surprise you. Wisdom. Wisdom is the path to get from where we are to where we want to be.

The gifts of mercy and generosity often go hand in hand. Those with the gift of mercy are soft-spoken, easy to talk to, highly relational, and embody what it looks like to truly love people. Givers are typically well-organized, disciplined, sensitive to the needs of others, and find joy in both saving money and meeting the needs of others. The woman with the alabaster box is a beautiful picture of these two gifts and how they can work together. Simply put, we find that the logical conclusion of compassion is generosity and that you will never regret what love bids you to give away.

Those with the gift of teaching love details, gathering information, and downloading that information into the lives of others in order to make them better. Their contribution to the church is massive. They are thinkers who are able to wrestle big questions to the ground and then articulate simple answers to those questions so that others can have clarity about not only what they believe but why they believe what they believe.