Since writing about C.A.R.E.S., I sometimes feel like I’m on Sesame Street. You remember how each episode featured a “letter of the day”? So here, humor me if you please, “Today’s reflection comes to you by the letter S.” I have finished spelling out C.A.R.E.S., and now we arrive at the final letter: S is for Spiritual Formation and Service. I went out of order, but God always brings us back into alignment with what matters most. And speaking of alignment, let me start with a little story.
Have you ever seen one of those “reply to all” mishaps? One message goes out, and suddenly everyone piles on with a quick “Sounds good” or “Thanks.” Before long, inboxes overflow with twenty variations of the same thing. It’s funny at first, but soon it feels like noise. Our spiritual lives can look the same; full of activity that doesn’t always add real value. Yet God redirects us. Even when we lose focus or get out of order, God draws us back to what truly matters.
This week, we focus on Spiritual Formation and Service. These two belong together. Prayer, worship, and study deepen our faith. Acts of service put that faith into practice. Service strengthens our spiritual muscles. Faith never stays private; it lives in community, action, and love.
In Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster reminds us that formation and service are part of a larger whole. He names twelve practices of faith: meditation, prayer, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration, and arranges them as inward, outward, and corporate disciplines. His framework shows that true faith grows when our inner life with God and our outward life with others stay connected.
Scripture says it plainly: “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead” (James 2:26, NRSVUE). Spiritual formation shapes our hearts. Service puts our faith into action. One without the other is incomplete. When we serve, we follow Christ’s example of humility and compassion. When we commit to prayer, Scripture, and reflection, we gain the strength to serve faithfully, even when it feels hard. God unites both: one grows our life with Christ, the other extends Christ’s love into the world.
As you move through this week, ask yourself: How am I deepening my walk with God? And how am I putting that walk into motion through service? If your inbox fills with too many “reply to all” messages, let it remind you: God calls us to listen more closely, live more faithfully, and serve more generously; because God C.A.R.E.S. and the SWC C.A.R.E.S.