Once upon a time, teaching religion to fourth graders, I’d given them this passage to read from Ecclesiastes: “For everything there is a season, / and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; / a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; / a time to kill, and a time to heal; / a time to break down, and a time to build up; / a time to weep, and a time to laugh; / a time to mourn, and a time to dan

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; 
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; 
they shall run and not be weary, 
and they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Lost to the western church today is a clear understanding of the Church’s primary reason for being—to complete Christ’s mission to the world. Through witness, proclamation, and action we are to strive to bring God’s justice and reconciliation to the earth’s people and its institutions and systems. In Christ, God is reconciling the world to Himself, and we are his ambassadors to accomplish this (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).