6 – Salvation
The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. Exodus 15.2
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. Titus 2:11
The substance of our final core value has to do with integrity, how things hold up and all work together for good. It has to do with cooperating with the underlying powers and principles that give cohesiveness to our lives and relationships, learning how things are supposed to work and falling into line with reality, recognizing that there is an order to the universe – ways that produce good results or integration and ways that lead only to disintegration. Gathering instead of scattering. Building up what is good instead of tearing it down.
Unity and integrity start in individual hearts. Are we divided within our own selves, pulling in contradictory directions, violating our own principles? Are we doing what we believe is right or are we trying to fool ourselves and those around us? What about our families? Are we doing what we can and being who we truly are by taking our part in holding our families together in a divided world? Are we part of the solution or part of the problem? What about our neighborhoods? Do we just come and go like transients, or are we genuinely seeking to love our neighbors and work together for the common good? Can a neighborhood thrive if it’s immersed in institutionalized dysfunction, mediocrity, and disintegration in the surrounding community? How can one church survive without taking an interest in all the others around? Are we islands unto ourselves? How can this continue to be if we are to have any hope or confidence for our future and the generations to come? At the very root of His Branches lies the conviction that it’s time for us all to come together, look around and see what there is to do, then roll up our sleeves and get the job done.
