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For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 

1 Corinthians 3:9

How do we partner with God?  

According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a partner is “a person with whom one shares an intimate relationship.” Another definition is “one associated with another, especially in action.” Derwin Gray loves to say that “what happens in the seats should spill over to the streets.” Today, we focus on our individual actions toward the poor and afflicted. In God’s love, we are all His children, and we are designed to be together. As Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, says, “There is no us and them. There is just us.”

King Jesus is Love in action. He’s the answer to the war, disease, and death of a fallen world. But if we want to partner with Him, where do we start? We can begin by recognizing we have a mission. The Bible tells us to Give justice to the weak and fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute (Psalm 82:3 (ESV)). It is not enough to just talk—God calls us to love with actions and in truth (1 John 3:17–18). Scripture calls us to Learn to do good; seek justice; correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, [and] plead the widow’s cause (Isaiah 1:17 [ESV]). The love of God says, “It’s not my problem, but I’m going to be part of the solution.” 

Are you willing to be God’s partner on this mission?

Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than judgment at how they carry it. … And so the voices at the margins get heard, and the circle of compassion widens. Souls feeling their worth, refusing to forget that we belong to each other

Father Gregory Doyle, Jesuit priest and Founder of Homeboy Industries

“One of the ways you know that you’re growing in love for the other is things that affect the other begin to affect you.”

Dr. Derwin Gray, former NFL team captain, founder of Transformation Church

Next Steps

• Repeat the Lord’s Prayer, pausing over each word and phrase to soak in how profound this prayer truly is.
• Watch Homeboy Industries’ Stories Behind the Mission to hear how lives are changed when believers partner with God.
• Visit Willow’s C&J outreach opportunities website to learn where you can serve in your community.