As a child growing up in the ‘70’s, there were four musical notes (a,e,g,b for those who are so inclined) that I loved to hear on my television. These four notes signaled the invitation to join the crew of the Starship Enterprise in their ongoing mission “to boldly go where no [human] has gone before.” Over the next hour, viewers would watch as the crew set aside their fears and trepidations and encountered situations and life forms that most people were content to insulate themselves from.
In our readings for this week, Paul affirms his readers for acting “with great boldness” in response to the hope they have in Jesus Christ. As I read this, I wondered: would Paul write these words to the Christian community in Blairstown? Are we boldly living out our faith? Are we boldly passing our values and our understandings about God on to our next generation? Would he see us as boldly driving out evil, proclaiming God’s kingdom, and curing diseases as Jesus asked his early followers?
As we come together to worship God and celebrate the vitality of our partnerships with scouting and civic youth organizations this Sunday, I hope that you’ll join us pondering our call to boldly go into the world driven by the hope we have in Jesus the Christ.
