This is not an easy lesson for us to learn. The shift to new thinking is an uphill battle. Today, as we can all see, we are no longer a churched culture. We are exiles in our own culture and the borders of mission have become the front doors of our homes and churches. We are all being put to the test these days.
Faith needs expression to verify itself.
Loving others is an expression, stewardship is an expression, serving a hurting world is an expression. And the beauty of it all is that when we show faith in action, the action increases the faith we are showing. When we love someone to whom we would not otherwise give the time of day, we find out we believe even more in the God of love who loved us like that. Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon giving them two messages. One expressed hope in God's future, that one day they would return to their homeland.