Yesterday, Joe Johnson gave a talk on mercy ministries. He stressed the importance of loving and serving others around us. As a follower of Christ, we are called to give to the needy. Yet, so often in our lives, we neglect that aspect. He gave three reasons why we do mercy ministries. First, it is commanded. Second, Jesus modeled it for us. Lastly, it gives God glory. Joe explained that if we realize that we were children of wrath, we would be in awe of the fullness of forgiveness that Christ has for us. We have absolutely everything because of Jesus Christ! True knowledge of this should transform every aspect of our lives, including giving and serving those who are needy.
In regards to this, John Piper states, "We do not love people so that we can be adopted, we love people because we have been adopted."
After the talk, we went back to Project. There, we served the motel owner, Greg, by cleaning the entire outside area. He recently had a heart attack and has been unable to do much upkeep with the motel. All the students worked in the heat of the day in order to serve Greg. We pray this is incredibly encouraging to Him, and that we would be able to speak truth to Him. We long to be witnesses of Christ in both word and deed.