I have just received an email saying: "The issue burning in me is the fact we are indeed salt and light, but that shows up best outside the church in the world, not in our nice safe Christian enclaves. My observation over many years is that most Christians lose all contact with unbelievers soon after conversion; for how much safer and more satisfying it is to gather with those of the same heart and mind, than with those awkward unbelievers who have such odd ideas and so many issues! But Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. I realise that we need to grow in our discipleship, but we must also befriend and love the lost; and do so unconditionally. God's love melts people’s hearts, but building relationships with them takes much time and patience. I am passionate about that."

What we read in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament, is the authentic testimony of real men and women of God just like ourselves. They lay bare their souls. They do not hide their weaknesses and failings. They make it abundantly clear what they are passionate about; what they live for and what they are prepared to die for. Their vision statement is that championed by Youth with a Mission: "To know God and to make Him known". Nowhere is this clearer than in the writings of Paul; and remember he exhorts us to imitate him. The Bible is not a theological textbook. We cannot read its doctrinal teachings separate from the very lives of those communicating them. God's Word is not theoretical but practical. It is not to be admired but obeyed. (Even as I write this I am convicted of my own sin and short-comings.)

Consider what Paul writes to the Philippians: "Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now … You share with me the special favour of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News … And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear … I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honour to Christ, whether I live or die." His mission centred on the world. Church life in the here-and-now was not an end in itself; it was a means to an end. The question is: How can we help one another to effectively put this into practice?