The time between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday has been one of special significance in my life for a number of years now. There is something about the space between the giving of thanks and the celebration of the advent of Immanuel, Christ with us that magnifies the gifts that God has given me.
This year, one of those gifts is you! We at Mercy Street are over joyed that God has united you with us to spark Christ honoring community restoration here in West Dallas. Together, we have been called to bring glory to God and good to others. While we are grateful for all of the mentors, volunteers, donors, prayer partners, and partner churches, my greatest joy is that we get to love God and love others TOGETHER with you.
In Life Together Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes the following: “It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.” He goes on to say define community by saying “Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this. Whether it be a brief, single encounter or the daily fellowship of years, Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ.”
This Christmas, we thank God for the body of Christ, we thank God for YOU!
"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Ephesians 4:16
