Simple Pursuit is a bold call from the heartbeat of the Passion Movement to live for what matters most…God’s Glory. And God is most glorified in us when we live lives that are fully satisfied in Him. But what does that actually look like? Together is the third of five plans that will help guide you closer to Him and His glory.

How does God teach us to love? His very nature is wrapped up in holy, consuming love—revealed in His Son, Jesus Christ. In all His actions and words, Jesus, the perfect image of the Father, became the only tangible display of true love that the world has ever known. Completely God and yet completely man, Jesus taught humanity how to love perfectly— love with our hands, feet, mouths, and hearts.

Love is Jesus sitting with and talking to a prostitute and extending grace instead of judgment. Love is praying for your enemies and giving them food and drink. Love is leaving the ninety-nine sheep to pursue the one that is lost. And love is Jesus’  ultimate sacrifice of laying down His life for God’s children.

Jesus Christ showed us the essence of love: a sinless man bearing the sins of the world so that humanity could be free, forgiven, and righteous.

Jesus is our perfect teacher and model. God asks us to be like Him: holy and full of love for one another. We are to bask in His love and learn about it so that we are driven to imitate Him.

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians arrived at a time this young church was breaking apart. Aside from rampant sexual immorality, the church was being torn apart by factious leaders who were using their spiritual gifts for their own glory. Division was gnawing away at the fabric of the church. Not surprisingly, the church was ineffective in ministering to the broader city and advancing the gospel. But Paul’s call for the church was clear: “Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.”

Like the Corinthians, we also become ineffective when we use our gifts to amplify our own names instead of the name of Jesus. As God’s vehicle for His mission, we should strive for unity and love in Christ. God has given each of us gifts to help build His church. Let’s use our gifts to minister to our brothers and sisters. When we gather as believers, our gifts come together in harmony for the purposes of building each other up and advancing God’s kingdom.

Have you ever thought about the complexities of the human body and how many working parts contribute to serving one function? Just think of a machine as complex as the eye or as unfathomable as the human brain.

The church is the same way; it’s made up of many gifts, ethnicities, cultures, stories, and talents, all serving the same God in a beautiful, complex way. However different we all may look from each other, we have all recognized that living for Jesus is more important than anything else we could spend our lives doing.

This generation of young believers has an opportunity to impact the trajectory of the global church community. If we center ourselves on the fact that we have been rescued from our sinfulness and have been called to walk in the light, the world will see a powerful, unified church. God has created each of us in unique ways, but He’s also called us to serve Him together. Unity doesn’t happen by chance; it requires us to be intentional with our actions. Take time today to encourage a fellow brother or sister to stay unified in the faith.

A community centered around Jesus, the church, is intended to be authentic. And with authenticity comes honesty—the easy kind and the hard kind.

The Bible tells us that as believers, we’re called to sharpen one another. Do you know what happens when you strike an iron flint against another? Sparks fly! It’s how you handle the aftermath that determines if you make a pile of molten ash or if you create a more refined product.

There will be days when you’ll speak truth to a friend, and there will be days when you’re on the receiving end of such truth—but that’s how God designed relationships to be. No matter which seat you find yourself in, God calls you to always humble yourself, to live authentically and honestly, in community, and to ultimately help each other journey toward Jesus. A true friend will be willing to tell you things that you don’t want to hear.

Don’t do life alone, dwelling in a fake community. Even when it hurts, a true community will lead you to life.

It is hard to fit in sometimes. Groups are everywhere—the athletes, sororities, fraternities, the studious, the student government, the religious, the gamers . . . the lists go on and on. Although these groups can sometimes turn into cliques, we can also admit that once we fit into a group, we feel secure. We feel known. Once you find “your people,” it is easy to become yourself without shame or fear of rejection.

Paul tells us in this passage that once we are in Christ, we become part of a large body of believers. We are in Jesus’ group. This body is made up of many different groups and types of people, but we all have the same goal: to bring God glory with our lives. Though we have differences, we are called to love, serve, and accept those in the body so we can work together to win everyone to Christ.

God made you just as you are and placed you just where you are for His purpose. So invest yourself into serving His church, for He has given you something special to contribute by bringing you together with His family!