People love the labels, don’t they? I am not talking about the labels in our clothing but rather the labels we hang on others as a way to differentiate ourselves. Think of all the ways we divide ourselves – race, ethnicity, religion, wealth, politics, gender – just to name a few. There is a kind of pride that comes from being part of ‘the group,’ feeling like an insider even as we exclude those who are ‘other.’ The contemporary American social scene is the most divided that I have known in my entire lifetime. The strife makes a mockery of the claim to be ‘one nation, under God, indivisible!’
What concerns me even more is the failure of Christ’s
Church to be the place where those divisions disappear because of one
shared Spirit who makes us alive to God. The reality of is a long way from what
Paul teaches us. "But now that faith in Christ has come, we no longer
need the law as our guardian. So you are all children of God through faith in
Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been
made like him. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or
female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus. And
now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are
his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you."
(Galatians 3:25-29, NLT) All the things that divide are secondary to the ONE
THING that unites – Christ, our Lord.
Well, that’s the way it should be, but tragically it isn’t.
Our love and worship should make our convictions about politics, secondary doctrinal issues, worship styles, and such matters no reason for division, suspicion, or accusation. Some would say that I am without conviction, but that would be untrue. I am fully convinced that salvation comes by faith, through Christ alone. I am, by persuasion, a Pentecostal who loves the life of the Spirit. I am committed to the truth of Scripture as my guide for faith and conduct. BUT, I have no need to declare myself ‘right,’ to determine that those with whom I disagree on such things are not ‘of Christ.’
The Gospel is a message that invites others in. It is
not a word to push others to the outside.
The Good News is that Christ Jesus came to open the Way to know our Father again, to allow us to know the joy of living under His care. Our Lord cannot be pleased with our insistence on dividing ourselves into groups that are ‘us’ and ‘them.’ We should rejoice in this wonderful declaration - "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new man out
of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them
to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came
and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you
are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and
members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole
building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord."
(Ephesians 2:12-3:1, NIV)
Let’s pray to know HIM, to love HIM, to be focused on HIS LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. This is the Gospel of Christ, not what we believe about baptism, Communion, or church organization. Even issues of personal conduct can be left to His judgment if we are secured by the love of Christ, our Lord.
Meditate on the word from the Word today. "Because
of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look.
We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We
certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we
see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.
The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the
God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to
settle our relationships with each other.
God put the world square with himself
through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of
sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re
Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their
differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them.
We’re speaking for Christ himself now:
Become friends with God; he’s already a
friend with you. "
(2 Corinthians 5:16-20, The Message) Can I get an ‘amen?’
(Video of this blog at this link)
____________________
Who am I that the highest King
Would welcome me
I was lost but He brought me in
Oh His love for me
Oh His love for me
Who the Son sets free
Oh is free indeed
I'm a child of God
Yes I am
Free at last
He has ransomed me
His grace runs deep
While I was a slave to sin
Jesus died for me
Yes He died for me
In my Father's house
There's a place for me
I'm a child of God
Yes I am
I am chosen not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me not against me
I am who You say I am
(Oh) (Yes) I am who You say I am
Ben Fielding | Reuben Morgan
© 2017 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI License # 810055
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