GroshLink

I remember very vividly, some years ago, that the question which perplexed me as a younger Christian (and some of my friends as well) was this: what is God's purpose for His people? Granted that we have been converted, granted that we have been saved and received new life in Jesus Christ, what comes next? Of course, we knew the famous statement of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: that man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever: we knew that, and we believed it. We also toyed with some briefer statements, like one of only five words – love God, love your neighbour. But somehow neither of these, nor some others that we could mention, seemed wholly satisfactory. So I want to share with you where my mind has come to rest as I approach the end of my pilgrimage on earth and it is – God wants His people to become like Christ. Christlikeness is the will of God for the people of God.  -- The model – becoming more like Christ

With these words, John Stott began his final sermon. For more on Stott and his fruitful ministry go to PastorBlog's post. Stott's work with InterVarsity and our international partner IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) has been enormous. Check out his titles from InterVarsity Press (IVP), note: Your Mind Matters is a key text for the Emerging Scholars Network material I've been developing. Also, he has spoken at a number of Urbana Student Mission Conventions, you can find those presentations on-line, e.g., Guard the Gospel: 2 Timothy 1 (Urbana 67). Returning to his question, What is God’s purpose for his people? it is good to be a part of local assembly which focuses upon reproducing the likeness of Jesus in the world.  May yours likewise embrace this kingdom vision.