One of the Church of the Nazarene’s chief beliefs is that true holiness of heart will always express itself in love for one’s neighbor. It was out of the overflow of God’s love within his triune being, that He created the world, and then sent his Son, Jesus, to redeem the world. God’s love moves Him to bless and share Himself with others. As we come to share in God’s life through faith in Jesus and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are moved to share God’s redemptive love with others.

Living In The Overflow Of God’s Life And Love

In 1 John 1:1-2, the Apostle John explains this love dynamic spilling into God’s world this way:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

Why does the Apostle John proclaim God’s Son Jesus to us? He tells us in 1John 1:3,4: so that we may join the Apostles in their fellowship with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.  John wants us to experience the joyous reality of experiencing the love and intimacy of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This is the calling of the Church according to our Lord Jesus in Acts 1:8. We are to be witnesses of His life and death for us where we live and work (our Jerusalems’) and to the ends of the world. The Church of the Nazarene takes this commission by our Lord very seriously.

The Church of the Nazarene presently has 2.3 million members who are worshiping in more than 29,000 local congregations in 159 world areas. A typical outreach ministry of the the Nazarene Church occurs in the African country of Sierra Leone.

God’s Son Proclaimed In Word And Action

Each year, more than 1,600 children under 5 die from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation in Sierra Leone. The country has the highest rate of under-5 mortality in the world, according to Nazarene Compassionate Magazine, Summer 2016 Edition.

The Church of the Nazarene in Sierra Leone is partnering with rural water-poor communities to drill borehole wells that provide clean, safe water and prevent water-related illness. Nazarenes are compassionately sharing not only the spiritual water of Jesus for people’s souls, but physical water for people’s bodies.

This kind of ministry has resulted in many Nazarene Churches being planted in places like Sierra Leone and Bangladesh. The love of the triune God has been expressed in and through the real blood and flesh lives of Nazarene Christians. God’s love is shared unconditionally with those in need, regardless whether they respond or not to the Gospel message of Jesus. Clean water is given to all who are in need. This strangely sounds like Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan that we read about in Luke 10:25-37.

The Church of the Nazarene continues to grow throughout the world as the message of God’s love in Christ is shared both in word and deed and in the power of God’s Spirit. Praise the Lord!

QOTD: Are you faithfully bearing witness in word and action the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those around you?