We live with both things we seek and things we avoid. We have goals, pursuits, or what we desire to gain, and we certainly know what we want to evade, abstain from, or give a wide berth.

This fits the biblical pattern of repentance and faith. Just as the LORD called Abraham, in Genesis, to leave Ur of the Chaldeans (and all of the idolatry of his home country) and go to the land that He would show to Abraham, also the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy to flee from sin or temptations and to pursue righteousness (both in 1 Timothy 6:11 & 2 Timothy 2:22).

I think this one phrase can sum up what our ministry aims to produce in anyone we serve. Whatever we offer — a worship service, a small group, a specialized meeting, a personal spiritual discipline — is to help you discern what you could leave behind, and what you would take up instead, in your pursuit of Jesus.

I can further subdivide this into three distinct aspects of your life. 1) What do you worship? 2) How do you define your identity? And 3) how do you treat other people?

In terms of worship, there’s no question that you worship. Our Maker designed us as worshiping creatures, built for an eternal enjoyment of Him. The only question is whether or not you worship Him. Just think of how many Bible verses call people away from idolatries or worshiping false gods (easily 400-500 total verses in the Old & New Testaments)! This is what we’re called to leave behind, and it’s a loving call because no idol has any power to save or bless you. To leave behind an idol is to forsake a lie; it is inherently to make progress as you move away from what could never help you to move toward the Living God who alone redeems all who trust in Him. What do you take up in place of all those idols? You start to know the True God, YHWH, the Great I AM, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and you listen to what He tells you of Himself in His Word. As you learn of Him, you cherish Him, exalt Him, know, trust, love and obey Him as the Most Important One in the entire universe. And you seek to do this not just on Sundays but everywhere, all the time, because He is always with you and always worthy of your love.

In terms of how you define your identity, you start to realize the myriad ways in which you have built your sense of worth on things, people, or experiences that, in the end, all perish. As sinners, an essential aspect of how we seek to establish who we are is not in terms of who God is or who He made us to be. We rebel. We reject His work and His Word, and we seek to exalt ourselves instead. But because of the Gospel, as we come to realize how offensive and destructive this is, we turn. We repent of our self-will and begin to leave these frail, vain, and fruitless ways of securing our identity, and instead pursue our identity in Jesus. He says we are His. He says that we are made in His image, and are being redeemed back into His likeness that we abandoned in our sin. He says that we matter to Him as much as a Bride, and that we matter to the Father as much as a son. He says that we are sealed by His Spirit as His treasured possession, and that we are inhabited as His very own home. More and more, we learn to rest in who He says we are, and to leave behind the lies and disappointments of an identity based on created things.

And in terms of how we treat other people, in sin, we were always the most important person in any interaction. So we were arrogant, selfish, shallow, broken and therefore a regular disappointment to others as we failed to love, serve, give, or respect anyone else. In salvation, as we leave these ways behind, we begin to learn how to love the way that Jesus has loved us. Like mirrors, constantly refracting light from the sun toward a specific target, we learn to reflect the grace of God toward everyone we meet — even our enemies. As He has freely given to us, we freely give to others. As He values us, we value others. As He forgives and is merciful to us, we can forgive and show mercy to others. However, He has blessed us, we learn to simply yet consistently aim that at anyone and everyone.

So if you had to answer today, what are you leaving behind? And what are you pursuing?