“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thes 1:3).
Christianity 101 was about what we believe, why, and what difference it should make. In this series I want to double down on that last part. God forbid that anyone should think it only matters what we believe and not how we live! If we really believe what we say we believe, it should spur us on to a godly life.
All of this flows out of the doctrine of creation. We are created in the image of God to reflect him to the world around us. That is why we’re here, and we are most fully human when we live out that purpose.
That doctrine also tells us God knows how he made us and what makes us truly thrive. God’s rules are not “loud music annoys me” but “look both ways before crossing the street.” They are not meant to be meddlesome but protective, so we should embrace them as a gift from a loving God.
This is not going to be a treatment of Christian ethics. There are lots of good books on that subject already. If you want to learn about just war, reproductive technologies, or capital punishment, read one of those. I will be focusing on the life the world needs to see us live day in and day out.
This is also not going to cover every biblical command. You know not to lie, steal or commit murder. I want to remind us of the commands we like to forget or look at where the commands go farther than we sometimes realize.
Because God does care how we live. And because the people around us need to see that the gospel we proclaim really does make a difference in our lives.
Image via Pixabay
Part of Christianity 102
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