|
It is common for those that are farthest from God, to boast themselves most of their being near to the Church.
*Matthew Henry. Commentaries (Jeremiah, VII).
A man, down on his luck, went into a church that catered to the "uppity". Spotting the man's dirty clothes, a deacon, worried about the church's image, went to the man. He asked him if he needed help. The man replied, "I was praying, and the Lord told me to come to this church."
The deacon suggested that the man go pray more and, possibly, he might get a different answer.
The next Sunday the man returned. The deacon inquired, "Did you get a different answer?"
The man said, "Yes, I did. I told the Lord that they don't want me in that church, and the Lord told me, 'Don't worry about it; I've been trying to get into that church for years and haven't made it yet."
10Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. 11It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.
*Colossians 3.10-12, CEV
Paul, writing to the Colossians, marks for us some essential elements of Christian faith.
The Christian faith introduced a never-before, radical message of equality. The equality is based not on a social imperative or a religious ideal, but on a conversion of persons into the Body of Christ: "Each of you is a new person."
|
|
The unity of the Christ Body is sustained by an ongoing process of becoming more like our Creator. Growing to know God cements our oneness with other members of the Body of Christ.
In this growth in Christ, natural and socialized divisions cease. This is not only an idealistic vision or a change in attitude. This is oneness centered in Christ: "Yet, Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." There is only one unity in the Church, a unity fully Christ-centered, not church-centered, morality-centered, doctrinally-centered, denominationally-centered, ...
The unity of the Body of Christ is sustained also by communal behaviors evidencing our being a people belonging to God. The unity of the Body is honored and furthered by the virtues of gentleness, kindness, humbleness, meekness, and patience. Such virtues extend and mediate the Love of God experienced in our spiritual baptism into Christ. God loves us, and we love each other through virtues that encourage and begrace each other.
God literally gets into a church by means of a church being a Body of new persons growing to know God better, centering its life in the indwelling and ever-present Christ Jesus, and practicing the communal-relational behaviors that honor all members of the Body.
Is God in all churches? Experientially, no. Is God in many churches? Experientially, yes. God is only experientially among us when we align ourselves as a community with the conversion, thoughts, attitudes, and actions that make us prepared to invite God to companion us. Otherwise a church may be a well-functioning social organization or religious business. But a church is to be a vital, dynamic, and growing member of the literal Body of Christ. A church is only a church when it evidences the life of Christ in a growing likeness to God. Otherwise, a church is functionally atheistic.
Continued... |
