The more I read Scripture, the more I’m convinced that those who follow our Lord Jesus are pulled to the edges of society, where people on the margins reside. In my experience, when the Spirit draws me into relationship with those who might be considered “marginalized,” I discover Christ is already with and in “those” people.
Ministry with and among people on the margins (through prison ministry) has meant life for me and my congregation – perhaps even the kind of abundant life Jesus promises to those who dare to follow him into the prisons, the shelters, the detainment camps, the projects, the hearts of the grieving or the streets.
How many times did Jesus and his disciples get into the boat and go to the “other side?” Again and again, Jesus stretches his followers’ understanding of who the good news was for – and how wide our Maker’s arms could really be.
This message is excerpted from “Christ, for you!” by Renee Splichal Larson in the July/August 2017 Gather magazine.
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