Following Jesus is simpler than most people think. There aren’t a bunch of rules and regulations to memorize. You don’t have to understand scores of doctrine and creeds. You don’t need to be able to recite lists of dates and places. Jesus himself keeps it pretty simple. If you want to be a follower, someone who obeys the commands of Jesus, you need to do two things: love God and love others (Matthew 22).

       Following Jesus means asking one simple question at every occasion: what does love require of me? At work, “What does love require of me?” At home, “What does love require of me?” At church, “What does love require of me?” In our private, public, and political lives, we ask, “What does love require of me?” Simple.

       But it is by no means easy. When we ask that question, we’re often left with a challenge. To love the way I know I should, the way Jesus would, would demand sacrifice. It’s going to be hard. I’m not going to get my way. I’ll have to give up in order to love them. Following Jesus is simple, but it is not easy.

       That love question is what drives us to serve. We serve because we asked, “What does love require of me?” and the honest answer we came to was, “It requires giving up my time to serve them.” We saw a need and realized the loving thing to do in that moment was to meet that need.

       That’s how it is with serving at church to. For our church to make the most impact for God’s kingdom we need lots of things to be done well. Childcare, communion, clean building, warm smiles, hot coffee, dedicated musicians and worship leaders. All of these things done well contribute to someone hearing about Jesus. You saw one of these needs and said, “Instead of sitting on the sidelines and taking it easy, I’ll jump in and serve.” You asked what love required, saw the opportunity, and stepped forward. Thank you for that. Thank you for loving your church. Thank you for stepping up and serving this awesome mission we have in Baxter Springs!