Issue link: https://discover.cph.org/i/1130362
10 Lutheran Life Ministering to people is not just providing them information about God. Caring for God's flock requires being present with people in their daily lives. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD IN BIBLICAL TIMES Our God is a God of relationship. He cared so much about us that Christ took on flesh and dwelt among His people. In His earthly ministry, Jesus didn't just study and preach and teach all the time, avoiding contact with people. He was physically present among them in groups and individually. He listened to their cries for help. He spoke with them. He fed them. He touched them. He forgave and healed them. RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD TODAY Today, our Lord is still present with His people through His Word and Sacraments. Christ speaks to us through the Bible. God's Spirit dwells within us. We are made children of the heavenly Father as we are touched in the waters of Holy Baptism. He physically comes to us in His body and blood during His Holy Supper to strengthen our faith and keep us in holy relationship with Him. OVERCOMING HURDLES TO COMMUNITY Today, more than ever, personal contact makes a difference. With the busyness of our society, and with communications becoming more and more digitalized, connecting with someone in person is an unusual blessing. We all have a responsibility to care for one another, even when we must jump over earthly and contemporary hurdles. God gives us one another to serve in a ministry of presence. He creates and nourishes our faith through His Word and Sacraments. Then He sends us out to serve others, to love them and care for them, whether they are within or outside of the Christian community. w Adapted from Built on the Rock: The Healthy Congregation, page 252 © 2017 Ambassadors of Reconciliation. Published by Concordia Publishing House.