“Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2
What does it mean to “walk in love”? How do we do it?
According to our theme verse, we walk in love by imitating God’s love for us in how we show love to others. Aha! Our first clue – walking in love involves community, connection with others.
I would like to share an example of being on the receiving end when others have “walked in love” that has been deeply moving for Jeanne and me.
Some of you know that several years ago our daughter and her husband decided to grow their family by adopting a child via the foster system. They understood that this would be a lengthy process filled with uncertainty and doubt. Jeanne and I willingly became partners in their journey. Spoiler alert – the story has a happy ending!
It took seemingly forever (years!) until they were successful in receiving a foster child. From day one, he was accepted by them and us as their son and our grandson – not just a foster child.
What followed was a lengthy (more years) process. When a child enters the foster care system, the first goal is reunification with the biological family. Only when that is not possible does the child become eligible for adoption. As you can imagine, it was an emotional roller coaster.
But we were not alone on this journey. Many family members, friends and fellow parishioners were “walking in love” alongside us – praying, comforting, lifting us up and, eventually, sharing the joy when he legally became our grandson.
So, what are we asking you to consider, to do, when we ask you to “walk in love” this year as part of an annual stewardship campaign? For me, it is an invitation to be more deeply engaged in God’s work and an opportunity to think about how I can more closely adhere to this admonition in 1 John 4:11 “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”.
I welcome you to join me in this process of reexamination!
Jim Garrison
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16