“We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 1:3 CSB https://bible.com/bible/1713/1th.1.3.CSB

The mission of the Christian is the Great Commission. God has commanded His church to make disciples of whom we belong if we are followers of Jesus. How do we conduct this work upon identifying publicly that we belong to Jesus? We work by faith. We believe God has come to us in Jesus the Savior. This Jesus, we believe, died on the cross, taking upon Himself the sins of all humanity to appropriate forgiveness for sins to all who come to Him seeking reconciliation with God. We believe Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, that His payment for sin was sufficient, and that He alone will judge all people to determine their eternal destiny. We share this faith because faith comes by hearing God’s word so that others can believe and likewise be reconciled to God. We share because we love God and have embraced His mission for us. We love people and do not want to see any perish, but all come to everlasting life just as God, our Savior, desires. Though we love people, which causes us to share the gospel with everyone, some reject God and, therefore, reject His fellow workers, bringing persecution to us. Persecution is painful at the moment, but we know it produces a greater reward that God our Savior will award to all of His people who have suffered for His Name’s sake and been faithful to the end of their lives to make Him known and obey His commands. This is our hope, His reward, so we labor tirelessly while loving unconditionally until our Savior returns or He takes us home.