Today’s message: Bloom where you are planted

In preparing to write this week’s column, I’ve been struck by what an outstanding privilege it has been to share my thoughts with you all through this paper, and in recent years, through different media outlets in the Niagara region.

This will likely be my last column for the Niagara group of Postmedia papers as my family and I have been called to join the ministry of Murray Street Baptist Church in Peterborough. Our journey with the people of Murray Street begins in early August.

So, as you can imagine, the past few weeks have been times of reflection and reminiscing. It was during one of those reflecting times that I began to think about what a genuine privilege it has been to have been given space on the pages of our local newspapers over the years.

The point of this column has always been to foster conversation from a faith perspective, not to present sermons — although I love a good sermon.

Your feedback over the years indicates that I’ve been successful in that regard — which is not to say that we’ve always agreed on my topic of the week. But that’s just fine, conversations in which everyone always agrees are often boring and short-lived. So to everyone who has taken the time to write to me directly or to comment on social media, thank you very much. Your challenges and your support have both been enlightening.

But as we often say around First Baptist Church, it’s not about me. It’s about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.

One of the many wonderful things that the Lord has done for us has been to invite us into his ministry, to be part of the new relationship with God that he ushered into the world, by his life and his teaching.

In church circles, we call that inclusion The Great Commission. It comes from Matthew 28, and it records the last words of Jesus in that gospel. Jesus challenged his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

While I used the word invite to describe Jesus’s direction to us, it’s actually quite a bit weightier than a mere invitation. The Lord himself clarifies this for us in the Commission, where he uses the phrase “commanded you.” If you are a Christ-follower, this is part of the package. This is part of the work to which we have been called.

To which we have all called.

You don’t have to be a pastor, priest, minister or columnist to faithfully live this out.

Wherever the Lord has placed you, be who you are for him in that place. Bloom where you are planted. Know that in your dayto-day activities you have incredible opportunities to live out the Great Commission in ways that most pastors — or columnists — never will.

Seize the privilege you have of serving Christ in every and all situations … wherever and whenever they occur. — Rev. Brad Peters is the pastor of First Baptist Church Niagara Falls (3900 Dorchester Rd.) and serves as chaplain to Niagara Falls Fire Department. You can contact him — for a few more days — at 905-3547836 or bpeters12@cogeco.ca.