As Christians, loving each other is important. If

we're going to learn to serve the world around us, we first need to

make sure we are serving and loving each other. In his book,

Discipleship Essentials (p.152), Greg Ogden recounts the following

story: “Mary Rutan tells of...her church in Alaska [which] was

hosting missionaries who were to live in the homes of the

parishioners and rotate among the churches. Just before their house

guest was to arrive, the flu arrived first. Her whole family was

ill. Before they had time to make other housing arrangements, there

was a knock on the door. Mary’s husband was the only one well

enough to stagger to the door. He explained the situation and

suggested that it would be best for the missionary to stay

elsewhere. The man’s face became serious with concern, but not for

himself. He didn’t just step through the door, but he strode in

with a firm, “Oh, no! You need me here!” To their amazement he put

down his luggage, took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves and

began to wash the dishes. Mary said she had heard many sermons on

servanthood but none so eloquent as those six words, “Oh, no! You

need me here.” His eyes were on the lookout for how he could be

helpful. A servant doesn’t wait to be asked but restlessly looks

for unmet needs.” On the surface, loving each other within the body

of Christ doesn't seem that difficult. But as we will see this

Sunday, giving our lives away to each other can be one of the more

challenging obstacles in living our lives the way Jesus asks.

Sunday should be fun. It'll be a chance to be challenged in the way

we live. As always, I can't wait to see you then!

P.Dave