I feel incredibly lucky to live in a time where, relatively, there are a ton of Christians around me all the time. So many, in fact, that all the Christians that live in the cites of Minneapolis and St. Paul don’t fit into a single building to gather for worship on a Sunday. So many, in fact, that the sum total of all the good that our family does on a given week is incredibly difficult to calculate. So many, in fact, that it is easy to find a Christian or two with whom you disagree about something…

And there are healthy reasons to disagree: one church may want to reach out with the gospel north of 694, while another may want to focus south of 494 in their outreach, and a third may want to be a faithful witness in North Minneapolis specifically. But there are some things to which every single Christians is called, no matter where God has uniquely called their church: every single Christians is called to love God, love their neighbor, and call Jesus their Savior and King. I already commented that there are many ways and locations to love God and love neighbor, but I think that we sometimes forget that at the very center of Christianity is a Christ. We gather around the reality that Jesus is the King of our Kingdom, who died to rule over His people, saving us from the rule of Sin and Death and bringing us to His rule of Forgiveness and Life Everlasting!

There are a ton of different areas where I can get into arguments (sometimes even with myself): from theology to mission, from location to church ethos, from church polity to the family economy… But I know that if I were to spend the rest of my days focusing of Jesus instead of everything else that so easily distracts me, I would not find an end to my search, nor be disappointed by all of the wonder I would find.

I want to be faithful and consider how Jesus has designed me to Love Him and Love my neighbors uniquely, but I don’t want this consideration to ever replace my adoration of my Savior and King.