We are committed to helping everyone become what Jesus envisions.
People living out the grace and truth of Jesus Christ in every relationship.
Up, In and Out.
We want to help everyone become what Jesus envisions. The question is, “What does Jesus envision?”
At Living Hope, we believe that Jesus envisions that we would become a community of people living like Jesus did, living lives that are marked by grace and truth. In John’s account of the life of Jesus, he writes,
“The Word [Jesus] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Jesus lived a life marked by grace and truth, a life that was uncharacteristic in his day. It was so uncharacteristic that John felt compelled to write about it. As we read in the Bible about each person’s relationship with Jesus, we see a grace and truth that is uncharacteristic of the world around us, even today. This is the life that we are called to live as Jesus’ disciples. John wrote in his first epistle that those who love God should live as Jesus lived (1 John 2:6).
Still the question can be asked, “What does this look like?” This is where the last part of the statement comes in – Up, In and Out.
“Up, In and Out” defines three relationships that we need to be continually engaged with. In the past we have used statements like “loving God, loving the family of God and loving people into the family of God to refer to these relationships. We have simplified these statements to make them easier to remember and refer to as we encourage each other to live God’s way.
“Up” refers to our relationship with God where everything begins. We need the grace and truth of Jesus Christ to be poured into us. Grace is the unmerited favour, love and power of God expressed in his forgiveness and redeeming work. Truth – the reality of who we are, our need for help, and the solution to everything. As we experience the grace and truth of Jesus Christ we discover our purpose and our identity.
“In” refers to our relationship with others who, like us, are living out grace and truth. This is our relationship with other disciples and with the church. Being in relationship with other disciples gives us opportunity to pour the grace and truth we’ve experienced into the lives of others. We need to help each other live like Jesus did. The church should be like a laboratory where we can experiment about living like Jesus, and help each other get better at doing so.
“Out” refers to our relationship with those who do not know Jesus. From the very beginning, Jesus invited his disciples to work alongside him, to help others experience the grace and truth of the Father. One of Jesus’ last instructions to his disciples was to go and make more disciples. Without our “Out” relationships we will never fully become what Jesus envisions.
For each of these relationships we have defined two core behaviours that will help us become what Jesus envisions. These six core behaviours are:
