SOCIAL PRINCIPLES #2 – THE NURTURING COMMUNITY

 

            I am continuing my weekly blogs talking about the United Methodist Social Principles. Last week was on The Natural World section.

            This section deals with The Nurturing Community, with sub-sections of:

• Culture and Identity
• The Family
•  Marriage
•  Divorce
•  Single Persons 
•  Women and Men 
•  Human Sexuality 
•  Family Violence and Abuse 
•  Sexual Abuse 
•  Sexual Harassment
•  Abortion 
•  Ministry to Those Who Have Experienced an Abortion 
•  Adoption 
•  Faithful Care for Dying Persons 
• Suicide 
• Sexual Assault 
•  Pornography
• Bullying

This section of The Social Principles deals with developing community that enables individuals to develop to their fullest potential. A hymn that is well known to many and has been recently shared in the local church I am serving is “Jesus Loves Me”, which says, in part:

Jesus Loves me, this I know

For the Bible tells me so

Little ones to Him belongs

They are weak but He is strong

 

Yes, Jesus loves me

Yes, Jesus loves me

Yes, Jesus loves me

The Bible tells me so

            Everyone is loved and important, as human beings created by God in God’s image. This section of The Social Principles has categories focused on issues that we, as humans, deal with regularly. I wound hazard a guess that most of us could read through the list I copied above from them and find a few that you have either struggled with yourself or love someone that has struggled or dealt with a particular issue.

 

            Of course, there are also topics that many of us have opinions on, long-held, deep-seated opinions. The point of this blog isn’t to argue any particular situation or any opinion. What I do want to state, though is a piece of scripture, again, from early in Genesis, that, as someone who views herself as a disciple of Christ and a steward of God, believe is important to remember:

 

 

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God

he created him; male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. (Genesis 1:27-28)

 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

 

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

 

            However, I think the verse that we should focus on, particularly, when we are reading this section on Nurturing Community in The Social Principles is:

 

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

 

            As stewards of everything God created and as disciples of Jesus Christ, if we focus on that verse, loving, just loving, then, the stewardship of our world is in good hands.