Honest questions about Jesus, asked in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville has prominent churches and quiet acts of mercy most visitors never see. Jesus did not call people to admire Him from a seat. He called disciples to take up the cross daily, love enemies, forgive, welcome strangers, and make more disciples. His resurrection means this hard life is hopeful, not grim.

Jacksonville is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States, and distance shapes service. The St. Johns River divides daily routes; historically Black neighborhoods north and west of downtown have experienced disinvestment; refugee and immigrant families build new lives across Duval County; coastal communities prepare for storms and dangerous surf. Real local love accounts for transportation, heat, hurricane season, and the fact that 'Jacksonville' can mean an hour between two addresses.

Jacksonville spreads wide: river bridges, pine flatwoods, port traffic, apartment complexes along Beach Boulevard, old porches in Springfield, and Atlantic surf beyond the Intracoastal. A city this large can make neighbors feel far apart.

Following Jesus closes that distance one table at a time. Read Matthew in Arlington. Share dinner in Murray Hill. Serve beside someone at a McDuff Avenue meal shift. Baptize a believer in lawful, safe water. The point is not another religious event; it is a life learning to love the way Jesus loved.