Why?
The simple answer is that we believe we've been told to serve others, and that in fact, to do so in love is part of fulfilling the second greatest commandment. We believe that a lot of being a follower of Jesus isn't only a mental exercise of believing and/or saying the right things, but honestly trying to live out our faith by following His example
why?
We believe that being a follower of Jesus involves not just "faith," but also a commitment to do what He said and emulate what He did.
You were driving through a tollbooth and found that your fare had already been paid by the stranger in front of you.
Maybe, you found yourself with a flat tire and a person stopped to change it for you.
Or, on a hot day you were handed a free bottle of water.
In any case, you were served by a person you may or may not have been able to speak with, but he or she handed or left you a card that simply said "You've been served!" on one side, with the website's address on the other.
Let's be clear about this. Our purpose is not:
To tell you what to believe
To tell you what to do
To make you a "Christian"
To sell you anything
To get you to provide financial support
To earn our way to heaven
why not?
no, really... why?
We believe that being a follower of Jesus involves not just "faith," but also a commitment to do what He said and emulate what He did.
Doing what He said:
Jesus said a lot of things which were recorded in what we call the Bible. One of these was what we sometimes call "the Golden Rule.":
"Do to others as you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets." - Matthew 7:12* (NIV)
Related to this is what he called the "second greatest commandment":
"Love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22:39b (NIV)
Of course, Jesus said a lot more things, and those words are very important, but if following the "Golden Rule" is the essence of the remainder of the Bible, and if loving our neighbor as ourself is one of the two greatest commandments**, perhaps we ought to start here!
* Wow - what a great idea for the name of a website!
** If you want to know what Jesus said is the greatest commandment, read the rest of Matthew 22!
Emulating what He did:
Many of Jesus' actions also are recorded in the Bible. We can read how he cared for the sick, fed the hungry, mourned with the bereaved, welcomed children, and spoke out against injustice. He also made it a point to go where the hurting people were, to venture out of the safety of the "holy" folk and into the real world, building relationships with the outcastes of the day – drunkards & tax collectors, lepers, Samaritans, and prostitutes, to name a few.
Jesus then commanded his disciples, the first followers of Jesus, to do what He did.
So that's what this is all about - following Jesus by doing what He said and emulating what He did. We are followers of Jesus trying to live out our faith in a practical and meaningful way.
