Week 4: Partner in Mission

A church is a beautiful, strange, funny thing, whose continued existence is a miracle. Seriously! Think about it. In a very real sense, a church is a ragamuffin group of misfit toys who may not always have a whole lot more in common other than the fact that God calls us his saints (v.1). In what other context in life would you ever find such a disparate group of people spanning such an incredibly wide swathe of ages, interests, political persuasions, ethnicities, and economic situations, gathering together—week after week, month after month, year after year—in the same place? So what is it that binds us together in mission and causes such strong mutual affection? Paul puts it this way in verse 7: “…all of you share in God’s grace with me.” God’s grace, given to us through faith, is the tie that binds. It is the secret sauce that distinguishes the Christian faith from every other flavorless world religion. It is the message that, in the words of Tim Keller, “We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”1 This restfulness in God spurs in us a restlessness for our unreached neighbors, that they too would come to experience rest for their souls.

Reflection Questions:

1. How would you describe the concept of grace to an unchurched person? Are there any everyday parallels or illustrations/examples that might help shed light on the topic? Why is grace such a powerful “binding agent?”

2. How do you balance the idea of being restful in Christ and being restless for your neighbors to know him? Which do you naturally drift toward? How might each feed the other?

3. According to verse 11, where does our righteousness come from? How does the world understand righteousness, and where do they seek it?