What does it mean to live a Christian life fully?

“Be careful” is typically bad advice to those desiring a fully satisfying life. Jesus was asked what was the greatest of all commandments. No hesitation is evident in his response. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul.”

Jesus was repeating the genius of Israelite faith. The Old Testament law required that this commitment be worn as a headband and as a bracelet, and it was to be hung on the doorpost of every home.

In my pondering of life, I have asked over and over again what it means to love God with heart, mind, strength and soul. For me it begins with Sabbath-keeping and attendance in a formal worship service every week.

In worship, in my Baptist tradition, I sing, pray, listen to and participate in the reading of Bible passages and hopefully hear a decent sermon. I participate in a communion service when offered. In my entire life, I have missed participating in a weekly worship service less than six times.

When I share this standard, people ask “why?” My answer is simple. I need to be reminded that God is God and that Howard Bess is not.

Beyond the worship ritual, how am I to love God with heart, mind, strength and soul? Again my answer is simple.

I am to live fully the life that God has given. I am to care for the creation with which God has surrounded me. I am to live life with heart, mind, strength and soul.

In the process of living life fully, I live out the first and greatest of all commands in the kingdom of God. It is a wholehearted life lived without reservation.

I take note that Jesus never advised any one in any circumstance to live life cautiously or to be careful. Fear, anxiety and hesitation do not appear to be a part of his life. With Jesus, loving his heavenly Father was no half-hearted endeavor, and it translated into the way he lived his life.

Recently I had a chance conversation with a young mother. She and her husband have been rearing three children of their own. They are doing well. The kids are active and successful learners in school and eagerly participating in other activities.

This new acquaintance shared with me that they were now ready to start adopting children. She verbalized the need for more adopting families.

I asked her if she and her husband were church related. Her energetic “yes” answer left me with a clear message. She loved God and was a joyous participant in the kingdom of God on Earth.

She and her husband are living out a first commandment life. Giving a home to unwanted children is a challenge that cannot be done with reservations.

The June 2014 edition of Sojourners Magazine carries an intriguing and hopeful article about the “127 movement.” Here in the United States there are almost half a million children that have been born to parents who cannot take adequate care of them. These children become the responsibilities of government agencies.

The “127 movement” has arisen among Evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously. James 1:27 says “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.”

127 is now active in Washington, D.C., Colorado and Arizona. 127 is not an adoption agency. They are facilitators to recruit and train families willing to meet the needs of our American kids without a home of their own.

The leaders in 127 are convinced that in our churches the resources already exist to make a serious impact on reducing the number of kids who can be returned to parents, need foster care or are suited and available for adoption. The exciting part of this movement is that working in God’s world with some of God’s neediest children is seen clearly as a part of the practice of religion.

When in seminary, I served an internship in a suburban Chicago church. As a part of my experience, I set out to understand the pattern of church attendance.

We carefully tracked worship attendance for an extended period of time. This is what I discovered. We had very few members who attended worship four Sundays a month. They provided the bulk of the leadership for the church and its programs.

A large part of the membership attended worship two or three times a month. They were considered active members of the congregation, but provided little leadership in the church.

An even larger number of members were once-a-month attenders of worship. They did little else in church life other than their occasional attendance.

The big surprise was Easter attendance. There were almost no visitors. However, all the members of the church showed up at once. The church needed a second service on Easter to accommodate the crowd.

I came to an obvious conclusion. When people give priority to public worship, loving God and doing God’s work in God’s world takes over. For Christians who say they take Jesus seriously, spending time in the woods, digging in the garden, mowing the yard, holding a family picnic or watching a ballgame are poor substitutes for regular worship.

Remember the orphans and the widows. It is inconvenient and can be stressful. However they are a part of God’s priorities.

It begins with the challenge of loving God with heart, mind, soul and strength. In Christian tradition it is the first of all commands.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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