Go Because of the Hurt; Stay for the Healing

^{I Cor 12:25 (NIV)} so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

^{I Cor. 12:25-26 (The Message)} The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

^{Romans 12::5 (Phillips)} Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad.

^{Romans 12:15 (NLT)} Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

I originally wrote this when several different people we knew were facing the anniversary of a loss. I copied The Message version of I Cor. 12:25-6 into an email and sent it to one such family. I respect Eugene Peterson’s credentials to do a translation like The Message, but I don’t know enough about his translation process to know how we came to “…involved in the hurt and the healing.” It’s certainly unique to his translation; but I like that it implies a sense of follow through; that we stick around not only for the hurt but for the better days that are to happen.

Think of this way: Presence yourself with someone because they are hurting, and still be there when the time of rejoicing comes.

This whole sense of bearing one another’s burdens is so contrary to western “me-first” individualism. We sort of get the idea of extending love and care to someone else, but we often miss the part of the concept where you and I are one. We sort of get the idea of the people in our church being family, but we miss out on the idea that as the body of Christ we are an organic unity.

It totally flies in the face of the Western mindset of individualism.

Even in marriages — the epitome in scripture of becoming one — it’s now common for husbands and wives to have separate bank accounts. I’m not talking about a situation where one spouse has a household account out of which to pay expenses as they crop up; I’m referring to situations where each keeps a portfolio of savings and investment accounts. Perhaps in an easy-divorce culture, it makes the separation of assets more simplified.

So the notion of weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice tends to miss the recurring word “with.” We often weep for, and rejoice for, instead of weeping with and rejoicing with; and by this I am referring to the full sharing of their situation, not something simply done in physical proximity.

In our business, we adopted a financial policy that is somewhat biased toward the people of like faith that we deal with. We pay all our bills on time anyway, but we like to use the following principle, and expect the people who deal with us — many of them who are churches — to carry a similar goal:

^{Gal 6:10 (ESV)} So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The problem is, consider the following scenario: A and B are both Christ-followers and are involved in a financial transaction where A is performing a service for B that is part of his trade. A wants to give B a price break because she is a fellow believer, but B wants to pay more than A is invoicing her for because she wants to honor the Galatians 6:10 principle.

I’ve been involved in such transactions where each person thinks it’s them that is doing the other person a favor, and it’s not unlike the classic scene where two very polite people are standing on one side of a door trying to let the other person go through the door first!

The way we work out these things is going to be complex, and sometimes an exactly similar situation will be interpreted in different ways by the different parties, leading to different outcomes. Still, I believe that God is pleased when we are endeavoring to honor Him by preferring others in all that we do.

This also has embodies the idea of humility, which is a recurring theme in my writing. You adopt a mindset of habitually esteeming the other person.

Furthermore, I believe that what honors Him the most is when we truly view ourselves as part of a single collective body.

Paul used the analogy of parts of the body, but if he had jigsaw puzzles in his day, he might have said, “The bottom right corner piece of the puzzle cannot say to the middle piece, ‘I don’t need you.'”

The way we show there’s no preference is to prefer the other.

^{CSB.Rom.12.10} Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.

Paul Desired That We Speak With One Voice

The source for today’s devotional was new to us, though I’m not sure how we missed it earlier. Unashamed of Jesus has been active since October, 2014, and has over 106,500 subscribers. (We couldn’t find an ‘About’ page, or names of the writers.) There were some excellent articles we scanned, and we encourage you to click on the title which follows to read this one where it first appeared.

Note: Today’s devotional used the KJV, and knowing that some of you struggle with that, the link for the two passages will take you to the NLT for the same verses.

1 Corinthians 1- Unite in Christ

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:10-12

Since the beginning of time, there has been problems in the Church. Anytime you get a group of people together, there is always going to be conflicts and issues. That’s why Paul here urges the Church to “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind” How did it work out? Well currently we have over 40,000 different denominations, including Catholicism and Orthodox.

So we know that there are a lot of things that divide us, such as for example a Catholic and a Protestant, have a lot of theological differences that keeps them from worshiping together. However let’s focus on what we do have in common, what do we all have in common with other Christians? Jesus Christ our Lord , Christ died for our sins, and Christ rose again on the 3rd day as according to the scriptures, and Christ will come again!

Many Christians like to keep arguing about tradition and theology, instead of sharing the gospel with non-believers. Back in the first century , there were believers saying they were followers of Paul, others said they were followers of Peter, and others followers of Apollos. Is this any different today? We have Christians today who are followers of the Pope, or followers of Luther, or followers of Wesley, but what about Jesus Christ?

Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, Christ is our Lord and God, not any mortal human or faith tradition. Christ should be the foundation of our faith, and also the foundation that unites us together as brothers and sisters of God

Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. 1 Corinthians 1:13-17

As the Apostle Paul states here “Is Christ divided?” No, there is only One Lord, One God, One Church, One Holy Spirit, One Faith, etc. There is not multiple Churches as we like to think here , when the Kingdom comes into full completion, there is only One bride of Christ, not multiple brides. If you hate your Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, brothers and sisters, then you need to repent and get over it, Christ is Lord of All, Amen!

Living Out Unity in Christ Need to be Intentional

It’s hard to believe that I wrote what follows ten years ago. Reading it, a decade later, it still holds true, perhaps even more so and honestly, I could have written this yesterday…

I invite you to begin today by slowly and meditatively read the words of Jesus in these four verses from the NLT rendering of John 17:

(11) “Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.”

(21) “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

(22) “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one.”

(23) “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.”

In the part of the world where I grew up, the rumor was that if you were preparing song-sheets for campfires or transparencies for overhead projectors — remember this pre-dates PowerPoint — you should not use the song which states,

We are one in the Spirit
We are one in the Lord

It wasn’t that you couldn’t sing the song, the issue was making print or projected copies of it in a world before CCLI. The story — which I never could confirm — was that the song’s copyright, which was owned by “the Fellowship of Evangelical Laymen” (FEL) was the most prosecuted for copyright violation and that church lawsuits could name pastors, church staff, board members and music committee members. Whether or not the “Laymen” were so litigious, I always found it ironic that a song proclaiming that as the Body of Christ, we hold all things in common, should be subject to a mentality that prevented its widespread use.

In the part of the world where I live now, we’re closing in on the annual Good Friday service. All of the Evangelical churches get together in the largest auditorium they can find, which for the past few years has been a hotel ballroom. This is a high point of the church year here and it’s always exciting — and honestly, a little bit distracting from the day’s primary message — to see people from different churches coming together to worship.

For the one day, we truly are “one in the Spirit.”

But the rest of the year, not so much. We break off into our individual assemblies and congregations for the other 364 days, and while the pastors themselves get together monthly, the rest of us don’t get to experience that blessing of Christian unity except at the one annual service.

The point is, we have a lot to offer each other:  Video resources, teaching materials, children’s programs, church libraries, men’s breakfasts, women’s retreats, marriage enrichment, etc.  We also have a lot we can give together more effectively than we can give individually: Respite for families with young children, support for pregnant teens and young single moms, networking on behalf of those seeking jobs, service projects for shut-ins, community meals for the poor and the lonely, advocacy for marginalized individuals and groups, etc.

Inter-connectedness needs to be intentional.

Working together needs to be our goal, our aim, and most important, our desire.

But beyond church resources and neighborhood projects, the thing we best have to give each other is ourselves.

The problem in the Body of Christ is that we don’t really know each other.

We might know names and occupations, but we don’t know the heart of each other and we have no meaningful shared experiences. We might work together on a specific project for a limited time, but our fellowship is really just task-oriented. We don’t dig deeper to get to know what makes the other person tick, and we certainly have never taken the time to hear their story.

Inter-connectedness needs to be intentional.

We are one in the Spirit, and we should be able to say that without fear of copyright prosecution, but we should also be able to say it without fear of rejection just because we’re part of another faith family.

^CSB.Eph.4.4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

^{MSG.1Cor.12.12-13} You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

^{NLV. same passage} Our own body has many parts. When all these many parts are put together, they are only one body. The body of Christ is like this. It is the same way with us. Jews or those who are not Jews, men who are owned by someone or men who are free to do what they want to do, have all been baptized into the one body by the same Holy Spirit. We have all received the one Spirit.

 

Facing our Critics in a ‘Cancel’ World

^NIV.Gal.3.28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

^{NIV.John.17.20b-21} “…I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

^{NIV.Proverbs.15.1} A gentle answer turns away wrath,
    but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Today I felt strongly that we were to carry something from author and pastor Scott Sauls, someone whose name I didn’t know a month ago. Scott is Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and was a lead and preaching pastor for Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he worked alongside Dr. Timothy Keller.

We’ve been blessed by being able to carry more book excerpts lately thanks to our friends at HarperCollins Christian Publishing (Zondervan and Thomas Nelson). For this one however, we’re sharing a sub-excerpt from his latest book, A Gentle Answer: Our ‘Secret Weapon’ in an Age of Us Against Them which appeared at Ann Voskamp’s site, and another sub-excerpt which appeared on Scott’s blog in what he describes as an amended version. Clicking the headers below will take you to each, which are on the same theme.

We Disagree, Therefore I Need You

by Scott Sauls

…I am told that the Theologian A (I’ll leave names out to avoid distraction) once gave a guest sermon about how God brings people into a saving relationship with Himself.

On this particular issue, Theologian A is well known for emphasizing the sovereign, initiating grace in the salvation of humans.

Others, like Theologian B, are known for emphasizing human free will. While Theologian A would say we chose God only because God first chose us, Theologian B might say that God chose us based on His prior knowledge that we would one day choose Him.

“Sincere believers can disagree on certain matters, sometimes quite strongly, and still maintain deep respect, honor, and affection toward each other.”

This is an intramural and friendly debate between sincere believers, and ought to be treated as such. It’s an important debate, but on whichever side a person lands, it will not determine his or her standing with a God who saves not by our perfect doctrine, but by His generous grace.

During the question and answer time after Theologian A’s talk, someone asked him if he thought he would see Theologian B in heaven, to which he replied, “No, I don’t believe I will see Theologian B in heaven.”

Of course, there was a collective gasp! But then he continued, “Theologian B will be so close to the throne of God, and I will be so far away from the throne of God, that I will be lucky even to get a glimpse of him!”  (italics added)

What Theologian A demonstrated is that sincere believers can disagree on certain matters, sometimes quite strongly, and still maintain deep respect, honor, and affection toward each other.

It is no coincidence that the longest recorded prayer we have from Jesus is His famous high priestly prayer, in which He asks that His wildly diverse band of followers be united as one. Those followers included Simon, an anti-government Zealot, and Matthew, a government tax collector.

Can you imagine loving and doing life together every day with your political opposite?

Likewise, it is no coincidence that the Apostle Paul would begin his letters with the two-part salutation, “grace to you” (the standard Greek greeting) and “peace to you” (the standard Jewish greeting).

It is significant that he would insist that Jews and Greeks, slaves and free people, men and women, are as one through Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:28). All three pairings represented the deepest forms of relational hostility to the first century reader.

In that world, Jews looked down their noses at Greeks, and Greeks disdained Jews. Men were dismissive and demeaning toward women, and women were injured by men. Free people saw slaves as sub-human, and slaves were injured by free people.

Paul confronted to such divisions because Christians are in many ways a band of opposites, who over time grow to love one another through the centering, unifying love of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit concurred with Paul.

In a world where pious Rabbi’s prayed, “Thank you, my God, that I am not a slave, a gentile, or a woman,” the Holy Spirit made sure that the very first three converts to Christianity were a slave, a gentile, and a woman. You can read all about it in the book of Acts.

Dealing with Criticism in a ‘Cancel Culture’ Era

by Scott Sauls

hate being criticized. Don’t you?

Because everyone is flawed, everyone can also expect some criticism from time to time. But these days, a carefully timed, carefully placed call-out can have the effect of “canceling” the person being criticized socially, culturally, professionally, and in many other ways.

Even when a person’s overall history, accomplishments, and personal character are laudable, a negative word spoken these days can swiftly reduce him or her to a single, defining worst moment. To make matters worse, a damning narrative doesn’t even have to be true anymore to ruin a person’s good name; in many cases, it only needs to be told. In a quick flash, a voice is discredited and silenced, influence is lost, and career and reputation are destroyed.

In today’s court of public opinion where it’s expected that people will get “canceled” for having their own, unique point of view on certain issues, we can no longer assume we’ll be judged innocent until proven guilty…

…remember that Christ himself was “canceled” for our sake…

Due to excerpt length-restrictions, for this section, click the header above

---

Taken from A Gentle Answer: Our ‘Secret Weapon’ in an Age of Us Against Them by Scott Sauls Copyright © 2020 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. http://www.thomasnelson.com.

We Are His Church

a worship liturgy by Ruth Wilkinson

We are His church and we stand together.

We are one body, in one Spirit, called to one hope, under one Lord, with one faith and one baptism for one God, one Father of all.

Once we were without, now we are within.

Once divided, now unified.

Once hostile, now reconciled.

Once far away, now brought near.

Once foreigners and strangers, now fellow citizens and family.

We are diverse – many parts, with many gifts and many shapes and cultures – but built on one foundation into one building, a holy sanctuary, the Spirit’s dwelling place, standing with Christ himself as the cornerstone.

We are His church and we stand together.

*********

We are His church and we make a choice.

When He asks us, “Who do you say I am?” we choose to say, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God!”

When He says, “Take up your cross and follow me” we choose to say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When He says, “Will you leave me, too?” we choose to say, “We know You, and we believe You. No one else has the words of life.”

We are His church and we make a choice.

*****************

We are His church and we have an identity.

We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession,
so that we may shout His praise. Once we were not a people. Now we are God’s people.

God’s people hold the keys to the kingdom of heaven,
binding and loosing things in heaven and on earth.

God’s people are not bound by categories.

Categories like Jew or Gentile
– because He calls us from every nation to be His own.

Categories like male or female
– because we are all equal inheritors of His Kingdom and equal builders of His Kingdom.

Categories like slave or free
– because we are all free, and all bearers of His Name.
All redeemed from under the law, adopted as sons and daughters,
with the responsibility to act, to speak, to love in His Name.

In the name of the One who gave us life and set us free.

We are His church and we have an identity.

***********

We are His church and we are not our own.

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this physical surrender is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, to this culture, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

We are His church and we are not our own.

***********

We are His church and we are forever.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:

Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.

Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” “

We are His church and we are forever.

Putting the Other Person First

^{I Cor 12:25 (NIV)} so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

^{I Cor. 12:25-26 (The Message)} The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

^{Romans 12::5 (Phillips)} Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad.

^{Romans 12:15 (NLT)} Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

I originally wrote this when several different people we knew were facing the anniversary of a loss. I copied The Message version of I Cor. 12:25-6 into an email and sent it to one such family. I respect Eugene Peterson’s credentials to do a translation like The Message, but I don’t know enough about his translation process to know how we came to “…involved in the hurt and the healing.” It’s certainly unique to his translation; but I like that it implies a sense of follow through; that we stick around not only for the hurt but for the better days that are to come.

This whole sense of bearing one another’s burdens is so contrary to western “me-first” individualism. We sort of get the idea of extending love and care to someone else, but we often miss the part of the concept where you and I are one. We sort of get the idea of the people in our church being family, but we miss out on the idea that as the body of Christ we are an organic unity.

It totally flies in the face of the Western mindset of individualism.

Even in marriages — the epitome in scripture of becoming one — it’s now common for husbands and wives to have separate bank accounts. I’m not talking about a situation where one spouse has a household account out of which to pay expenses as they crop up; I’m referring to situations where each keeps a portfolio of savings and investment accounts. Perhaps in an easy-divorce culture, it makes the separation of assets more simplified.

So the notion of weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice tends to miss the recurring word “with.” We often weep for, and rejoice for, instead of weeping with and rejoicing with; and by this I am referring to the full sharing of their situation, not something simply done in physical proximity.

In our business, we adopted a financial policy that is somewhat biased toward the people of like faith that we deal with. We pay all our bills on time anyway, but we like to use the following principle, and expect the people who deal with us — many of them who are churches — to carry a similar goal:

^{Gal 6:10 (ESV)} So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The problem is, consider the following scenario: A and B are both Christ-followers and are involved in a financial transaction where A is performing a service for B that is part of his trade. A wants to give B a price break because she is a fellow believer, but B wants to pay more than A is invoicing her for because she wants to honor the Galatians 6:10 principle.

I’ve been involved in such transactions where each person thinks it’s them that is doing the other person a favor, and it’s not unlike the classic scene where two very polite people are trying to let the other person go through a door first.

The way we work out these things is going to be complex, and sometimes an exactly similar situation will be interpreted in different ways by the different parties, leading to different outcomes. Still, I believe that God is pleased when we are endeavoring to honor Him by preferring others in all that we do.

Furthermore, I believe that what honors Him the most is when we truly view ourselves as part of a single collective body.

Paul used the analogy of parts of the body, but if he had jigsaw puzzles in his day, he might have said, “The bottom right corner piece of the puzzle cannot say to the middle piece, ‘I don’t need you.'”

The way we show there’s no preference is to prefer the other.

~PW

Focusing More on What Unites Us

^{NIV John 17:20-21} “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me…”

Today we’re again paying a return visit to Done With Religion by Jim Gordon. If you click the title below and then click the banner at the top of their page, you’ll see that this is a blog written from the perspective of ones who left the institutional church. I think they do a better than average job of presenting that perspective and that’s why I’ve chosen them to return here today. Besides, to think otherwise would be to completely miss the spirit of today’s devotional!

Divisions in the Body of Christ Should Not Be

It is sad that Christianity is divided into so many different groups. We all have a little different interpretation of the bible and a little different understanding of doctrine. Obviously, we are not going to agree on everything but we certainly should be able to love one another and accept each other even when we differ on these things.

It is hard to understand why this is when God tells us we are to be one as Jesus and the Father are one. Yet, we understand that we are human and it is easy to lose sight of our first love. If we could only stay focused on Christ, listening for his voice and the guidance of the Spirit, loving God and loving others as God intended, then we could begin to look past our differences.

The problem seems to be that we are unwilling to see any other viewpoint other than our own. There are those such as my wife and I that do not attend an organized church. There are those who attend a church every time the doors are open. Some attend a house church, some meet with fellow believers at cafés, parks or restaurants and others meet in their homes over dinner. We should accept these differences and love one another rather than argue over who is right and who is wrong.

There really is not a right or wrong way to assemble together and we need to stop expecting everyone to do things exactly the same way. We should respect others viewpoints and focus on loving them rather than expecting them to see things our way.

Things will not change until we start focusing on what is common in our lives rather than the differences. The common focus should be on Christ, the head of the body. After that we should focus on loving others rather than arguing about the differences in interpretation and doctrine.

We also need to keep in mind that we are all constantly changing as God brings new truth to us. We are all learning and changing as we are ready to accept new truths. The interpretations I had five years ago are completely different from some of the interpretations I have now. I am sure in another five years they will change again as God leads me into more truth.

Sometimes we are afraid to accept others interpretations because we feel if we do not hold to our way of thinking we are compromising and not standing up for what we believe. We do not have to give up how we interpret the bible, but neither should we think everyone else is wrong. Besides, we really are not responsible for convicting people of sin or leading them into truth or even saving them. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. We are told to love God and love others.

When we realize we are each equally important functioning parts of the body and Christ is the head, we can start to change how we feel about those who do not see things exactly the way we do. We can begin to accept the differences in our brothers and sisters in Christ as we realize we are all following after our Father and our goal is to show His love to all people.

 

Being Part of a Body versus Western Individualism

^{I Cor 12:25 (NIV)} so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

^{I Cor. 12:25-26 (The Message)} The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

^{Romans 12::5 (Phillips)} Share the happiness of those who are happy, the sorrow of those who are sad.

^{Romans 12:15 (NLT)} Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

This week several different people we know are all facing the anniversary of an untimely loss.  I copied The Message version of I Cor. 12:25-6 into an email today and sent it to one such family.  I respect Eugene Peterson’s credentials to do a translation like The Message, but I don’t know enough about his translation process to know how we came to “…involved in the hurt and the healing.” It’s certainly unique to his translation; but I like that it implies a sense of follow through; that we stick around not only for the hurt but for the better days that are to come.

This whole sense of bearing one another’s burdens is so contrary to western “me-first” individualism.  We sort of get the idea of extending love and care to someone else, but we often miss the part of the concept where you and I are one.  We sort of get the idea of the people in our church being family, but we miss out on the idea that as the body of Christ we are an organic unity.

Even in marriages — the epitome in scripture of becoming one — it’s common for husbands and wives to have separate bank accounts. I’m not talking about a situation where one spouse has a household account out of which to pay expenses as they crop up; I’m referring to situations where each keeps a portfolio of savings and investment accounts. Perhaps in an easy-divorce culture, it makes the separation of assets more simplified.

So the notion of weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice tends to miss the recurring word “with.” We often weep for, and rejoice for, instead of weeping with and rejoicing with; and by this I am referring to the full sharing of their situation, not something simply done in physical proximity.

In our business, we adopted a financial policy that is somewhat biased toward the people of like faith that we deal with.  We pay all our bills on time anyway, but we like to use the following principle, and expect the people who deal with us — many of them who are churches — to carry a similar goal:

^{Gal 6:10 (ESV)} So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

The problem is, consider the following scenario:  A and B are both Christ-followers and are involved in a financial transaction where A is performing a service for B that is part of his trade. A wants to give B a price break because she is a fellow believer, but B wants to pay more than A is invoicing her for because she wants to honor the Galatians 6:10 principle.

I’ve been involved in such transactions where each person thinks it’s them that is doing the other person a favor, and it’s not unlike the classic scene where two very polite people are trying to let the other person go through a door first.

The way we work out these things is going to be complex, and sometimes an exactly similar situation will be interpreted in different ways by the different parties, leading to different outcomes. Still, I believe that God is pleased when we are endeavoring to honor Him by preferring others in all that we do.

Furthermore, I believe that what honors Him the most is when we truly view ourselves as part of a single collective body.

 

When Secondary Things Become the Bond that Unites Us

Although the largest scripture passage in today’s reading actually is found at the end of the reading, as I looked at this topic, I was already determined that this definitely merited inclusion here at Christianity 201.  This is from the blog of Eric Geiger who blogs mostly for pastors and church leaders, and appeared recently at his blog under the title Gospel Continually Forms.

Though the believers in Philippi had been brought together only because of the gospel, Paul knew that the gospel must continually form community. The Christian faith is and has always been an interdependent grouping of people rescued by Christ. But because of our sinfulness, we tend to drift away from that, toward either dependence or independence.

Some are more likely to move in the direction of dependence. This occurs when we find our identity, security, or worth in someone else. Maybe the pastor, a friend we feel we must have, a certain teacher, or a person we don’t feel we can do without. Unhealthy dependence is actually a form of idolatry, finding ultimate fulfillment in someone other than God.

Equally destructive and on the other side of the spectrum is independence. Some foolishly attempt to live an isolated faith, recklessly believing that the Christian life can be lived in one’s own might and merit. Independence shuns community and refuses to lean on others for maturity, growth, sharing, and serving.

The gospel says differently. It pulls us back to interdependence.

Paul reminded believers to keep the gospel as the impetus for their community. He challenged them to “[stand] firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27 esv). He encouraged them because of Christ to have “the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (2:2 esv). He pleaded with them to submit to one another as Christ submitted to death, to have the same humble attitude as His (2:5–8). Paul knew that contrary to Jesus-centered community is the thinking that some believers are at a different level of righteousness than other believers, that some believers are “better.”

In 1983 an educational commission appointed by President Ronald Reagan released a study that influenced common practice in schools. It chronicled how America was no longer the leader in education, and that one of the reasons was because its smarter students were being held back to accommodate the ones who couldn’t keep up. Thus began an emphasis on “gifted” classes—students who were set apart to learn at an accelerated rate apart from the rest of the school population.

If you were in school during that time, you may remember the sting when particular students got pulled out of your class and assigned to special accelerated classes. The thought behind it was this: “The dumb guys are holding down our best and brightest. So we should pull out the smart ones. Let those guys color, and teach these other guys calculus.” It was a bit painful and demotivating. Perhaps you thought, They’re gifted and talented, so obviously I’m not.

Unfortunately, some of this idea has seeped into the Church. Some act as if there are levels of Christianity, and when you hit the gifted level, you don’t mingle so much with people who aren’t there yet. After all, they’re slower than you are, they’re not as motivated as you, they don’t understand what you understand, and they’re not as serious about pursuing the things of the Lord as you are. But the concept of “levels in Christianity” is not a concept built on the gospel of Christ.

Levels are only possible if there are levels of righteousness. And those levels simply do not exist, because we all possess the same amount of righteousness—none. The only righteousness any of us have is the righteousness God freely gives to us in Christ.

Some may be more mature than others in their understanding of the righteousness that’s been freely given, or in how they live in response to it. But no one in the community of faith is more righteous than another. Nobody.

Therefore, any attempt to build community on something more than the grace of Christ becomes a subtle move away from grace, a move toward pseudo-community that only puffs up and fails to transform. If something other than the person and work of Jesus becomes the foundation for a group of believers, that “other thing,” whatever it is—economic level, social manners, music preferences, common life experiences—becomes what they use to differentiate themselves from others. And it immediately becomes a point of boasting, a way to feel justified.

In the Galatian church, the issue became “circumcision.” Those who were circumcised only fellowshipped with others in the same condition. In churches today, perhaps it’s “we’re the deeper group” or “the homeschool group” or “this zip code group.” While there’s nothing wrong with people wanting to go deeper, or meet in homeschool groups, or make friends in the same zip code, we must be careful. Because of our sinfulness, these commonalities can become the bond that holds us together instead of the gospel. And worse, these commonalities can become prideful distinctions that repel others from a community that should be open and inclusive.

The commonality of the gospel is something believers share that will never change. Whether we are single or married, with children or no children, hyper-religious or irreligious, young or old, all believers in Jesus-centered community have a common place to stand together. In fact, if your small groups, journey groups, life groups, Sunday school classes, Adult Bible Fellowships, or whatever you call them are not centered on the common need for and common experience of grace, then they are actually doing more harm than good to the gospel movement. If groups are not gospel-centered and gospel-fueled, they are merely a social outlet for people, and they lack the power for transformation.

So what does community centered on Jesus and His work look like . . . practically?

The apostle Paul spent the first eleven chapters of Romans unpacking the fullness and the glory of the gospel. Then in Romans 12, he moved to our responses in light of the gospel, with the back half of the chapter containing some very practical but profound instructions that guide our pursuit of gospel-centered community. After clearly establishing that Christ is the One who forms community and places believers in one body (12:5), Paul issued this challenge:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Rom. 12:9–13  (ESV)

We featured Eric’s writing here a year ago at Church Life: What Matters Most

On Ethnic Heritage Churches

Today’s post is from the blog section of Theologyweb. The author’s name is indicated as elysian and it appeared under the title Connected in Community.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NRSV)

Today’s question:
How does remaining connected with Christ, the Head, solidify your fellowship with others in the body, the church?

I have to admit that one of the things that turned me off to being part of a church when I took a hiatus from church involvement several years ago, was the whole socio-political aspect of most churches. I was already playing the status-to-win game professionally, and by the time I got home from work I was tired of people, and weary of office politics. I didn’t want to go to church and end up playing politics there too.

The one organization that should be relatively free of the cut-throat competition and dirty politics that permeates the world is the church. However, the church is made up of sinful people- people who put “me” first, people who don’t hesitate to use others for their own purposes, people who must be “right” at all costs, and people who seek the esteem of others to make themselves look and feel good.

The church where I was confirmed was an example of this. That congregation had once been exclusively a heritage church, which essentially meant you were of German ancestry, your parents belonged to that church and you were baptized in that church. The new pastor who had come to the church when I started going there in high school was trying to evangelize- to invite people to worship, to come to classes, and to participate in the community, but not everyone supported the pastor and his outreach.

The church became divided between the old-school faction who took a dim view of anyone who was not of German ancestry and/or not baptized into that particular church in infancy, against the pastor along with the evangelization faction who welcomed newcomers with open arms.

Since I was one of the newcomers, some of the old-school members weren’t terribly thrilled I was there. Neither of my parents are Lutheran, and most of my ancestors came from either England or Scotland. My English surname didn’t help endear me to the old-schoolers either (though I do have some German ancestry too.)

The battle in that church came down to a sad struggle: keep the community a small, ever-dwindling faction of ethnic Germans, OR open the door to the greater community. I am glad to say that the pastor, and ultimately the community itself, won out. Today it is still a small congregation, but it is comprised of a greater variety of people- people who are ethnic German, people who aren’t German at all, people who came to Christ as adults, and people who grew up in different traditions.

God never meant for the church to be a genealogical preservation society or an exclusive club. He meant the church to be a place for ALL people who are seeking, knocking, asking and striving to follow Christ.

I adhere to a very specific way of interpreting Christian faith. I am a confessional Lutheran. I belong to and participate in a Lutheran church that is a vibrant community that embraces people of all backgrounds and situations. I might not agree with everything my church does, but by and large it is a God-honoring community. The Gospel is proclaimed, the sacraments are given, and the congregation is committed to serving God.

My church is not perfect. I can’t say that I agree 100% with either of our pastors all the time. Just as in any other organization containing sinful humans, we have obnoxious people. I’m one of those obnoxious people. But the grace of God and the love of Christ are central in our church. Slowly I am learning that loving people is more important than being able to agree with them all the time.

The more that I stay focused on Christ, the more I realize I have in common with believers of other traditions. The more I stay focused on Christ and rooted in His word, I realize that I can forgive people who are sinful humans just like I am. I can love people and be gracious toward them even if I don’t particularly like them. I may not agree with all of the other Christian traditions’ doctrines or practices, but I can acknowledge their faithfulness to Christ and join them in loving and serving God. I can embrace other believers not only in my own congregation, but in the greater church as well, because I know that’s what Jesus would do.

I pray that God will keep me aware that there is no such thing as a “lone ranger” Christian, and that I need the greater community to grow in faith and grace.

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Blog Flashback:

From two years ago, here’s a post for worship leaders and songwriters on taking a Biblical passage and “making it sing.”  Click here to read.