St Catherine of Sienna once heard God say to her that she was to "walk with two feet; love of God and love of all that God loves". Similarly, John Wesley said that if we want to grow in grace and maturity, we need to practice acts of piety (devotion to God) and acts of mercy (love of neighbour). We need both - we can walk on one foot, but two is much better if we want to get anywhere!
Last Sunday we looked at the story of Peter praying on a rooftop in Joppa before being called by God to visit the house of Cornelius in Caesarea. He was practising an act of piety and God called him to an act of mercy. What I love about Peter's story is that he wasn't asked to solve anyone's problem; he was just asked to go to Caesarea. When he acted, God did the saving work in Peter's heart and the rest is history. In that spirit, I spent a wonderful hour with the men from our Vulindlela project on Thursday afternoon. I didn't preach or fix anyone's problems, but instead was privileged to sit and listen to the stories of these brothers in Christ. A small thing, but I know that I am different for gift of that experience.
What is it looking like for you at the moment to get up from Joppa and travel to Caesarea?