As people of God, we continue to affirm that salvation is by faith – the acceptance of God’s loving, forgiving, redeeming grace as revealed to us through the crucified and risen Jesus. Salvation – the forgiveness of our sin, eternal life, our adoption into the very family of God – all this is a gift of God. It is not deserved; it cannot be merited or earned; it must be acknowledged and embraced through repentance and by faith.

Yet there is more to the Christian life. There are responsibilities to consider, commands to obey, directives to carry out. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love...This is My commandment, that you love one another...You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit....”

While it is correctly understood that a total commitment to the saving love of God will resolve in sacrificial discipleship and obedient servanthood, in fruit-bearing, in being a responsible Christian, we realistically insist that the journey from salvation to servanthood is often a long and painful, as well as joyful, experience. Christian growth comes by the grace of God – as does forgiveness and love. We responsibly walk in that grace and in obedience to the commands of our Lord.

What are the commands of Jesus? “Love one another...Go and bear fruit.” Every one of us is called into full-time service for Jesus Christ, to be His servant in the parish or arena of life and activity in which we find ourselves today.

May God help us to be responsible Christians, not only in accepting Jesus and living by faith within God’s saving grace, but in obeying our Lord, and by His grace committing ourselves to the desperate needs of the human family.