LIVING OUT THE GOSPEL

For Thy Kingdom Come, we are thinking this year about how we live out the Gospel in the world in which we live. To help us, we are using the framework of the five marks of mission.

Click on one of the marks below to see more:

We belong to God.

“It is no longer I who live,” writes St. Paul, “but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). By God’s grace, we share in his Life.

How does this Life express itself in and through us? If we are “marked as Christ’s own forever,” what are the marks of love that reflect and manifest the life of God abiding and at work within us?

Specifically, we see God’s life at work within us as we:

1. Proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (Sharing the Good News).   

2. Teach, baptise and nurture new believers (Nurturing and Growing).

3. Respond to human need by loving service (Serving Others).

4. Transform unjust structures, challenge violence of every kind, and pursue peace and reconciliation (Changing Society).

5. Strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth (Sustaining the Environment).

These “Marks” are the fruit of God’s life within us, a life which is nurtured by prayer and worship. When we centre our lives in God and allow Christ to live his life in and through us, we participate in the Mission of God. It is God’s intention to reconcile all things in Christ and make them new. The Church does these five things in an almost unconscious way; they are manifestations of God’s Life operating in us. They are not simply tasks to be carried out; they are signs that our life is rooted and grounded in the Being of God.

The Mission of God extends beyond the Church, and includes people in other traditions and faiths as well. We are partners with many others who are also bringing good news; who are also teaching and nurturing, tending and caring; who are also challenging injustice and working for peace; and who are also striving to protect, sustain, and renew the created order. Our way of participating in the Mission of God is rooted in our faith, and is the natural by-product of our common life of prayer and worship. But we are not the only ones furthering the Mission of God on the earth.

In the past, models of mission were often paternalistic and oppressive. We come in humility, asking constantly for God’s guidance and for further enlightenment. We adopt a posture of listening, opening our hearts to God and to others, seeking always what is most congruent with God’s purposes.

Let us all reflect on how we might live more fully. We are encouraged to balance action with contemplation, so that our words and deeds proceed from the deepest places of our hearts, where God dwells. We are to offer ourselves, body and soul, to God’s Mission, and to live for God’s glory. We pray that we all may learn to speak clearly and truthfully, and to act with integrity, motivated always by hearts overflowing with God’s love.

(This introduction is adapted from a course The Five Marks of Love by The Society of Saint John the Evangelist of the Episcopal Church, USA and the Anglican Church of Canada.)