On 3rd August, we had the privilege of having Dr. Steve Griffiths speak to us at the English Presbytery Co-Worker's Fellowship. Dr. Griffiths would be familiar to many of us as he and his family served in OMF based in Singapore for many years.
The main text that Dr. Griffith spoke on was from Romans 12:1-18. The main focus of his talk was about the Christian community - how to be a living sacrifice, have a life of service for others, and loving others like Jesus.
He reminded us that since our salvation in the Lord is a gift, the only proper response is to worship Him. And one of the expressions of worship is to be a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1). Yet, the call to be a living sacrifice is not about the individual only but how we are to come together corporately as God's people to be a living sacrifice. This means to die to ourselves and to sacrifice our lives to the Lord. It also means that we die to the world and not conform to the world's influence and values. And it can only be done through the transforming power of God.
To have a life of service towards others like Jesus, Dr. Griffith taught us to think rightly of ourselves and God's community. He emphasized to us that it is by the grace of God that we are saved and reminded us that the Father loves us. And for us to continue growing and maturing in our faith and walk with the Lord, we must think of community. As individuals, we have been given gifts by the Lord not to serve ourselves but to serve the community together. Without one another and serving another, we cannot grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord and others. And not forgetting that every gift that we have is from the grace of God that we have nothing to boast or have pride in.
Dr. Griffith's last point was about loving others like Jesus. He showed us how all of God's activities stem from love. The Trinitarian God demonstrates that before anything was created, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit were in a loving relationship of giving and receiving love. God was not a single Being in solitude. It was a perfect community of love. If He was alone, He would not have known love or be a God of love. And the Triune God wants to share His love with His created beings. That is why human love is not self-created or accidental. It comes from God.
And so, Dr. Griffith encouraged all who attended to remember how we are meant to be part of a community as it is God's intention and design. We must not neglect the relationships God has given to us. Instead, we must put in time and effort to nurture and develop it. And the only way for us to mature and grow as a community is to be a living sacrifice collectively, serve others like Jesus, and love others as Jesus did.
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