“Yes, everything else is
worthless when compared
with the infinite value of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have discarded
everything else,
counting it all as garbage,
so that I could gain Christ.”
~ Philippians 3:8
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”
~ Galatians 6:2
Matthew 22:36-40 relates a conversation between a Pharisee and Jesus:
““Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.””
Elsewhere, in Matthew 7:12, Jesus spoke of the heart and intent behind the law of Moses – the proverbial “Golden Rule.”
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.”
In Romans 13:8-10, Paul elaborates further on how Christ’s commandment to love others fulfills the law of Moses.
“Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.”
Returning to Galatians 5:13-15, Paul reiterates this point:
"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another."
Freedom from the law of Moses is not a license to sin, of course, but that’s a topic for another post.
The Gospel of grace is beautiful in its elegant simplicity.
From the blog “Ministry Matters”:
“The American church has a “dirty little secret”: thousands of special needs families have been made to feel like Old Testament lepers—forbidden from entering the temple to worship God with their brethren.”
http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/1415/welcoming-special-needs-families
While this passage speaks about discriminating based upon appearances, it's an illustration about favoritism in general. I understand that the church mentioned in this article seeks "to offer a distraction free environment for all our guests," but at what expense? Rather than making this a church policy, churches should be be modeling the Biblical mandate of "no favoritism."
The church, after all, is the Body of Christ, and each person has a place, regardless of “ability.” 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that, not only can’t one part of the body tell another that they are not needed, “some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.” Jesus also spoke on the topic in His discourse on the final judgment in Matthew 25:31-46.
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Finally, I am reminded of Matthew 19:13-15:
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.
God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11), but accepts all who come to Him equally. Shouldn’t we, then, as the Body of Christ do likewise?
I am always looking for ways to enhance our church's communication and sense of community between Sundays. My explorations and experimentations sometimes border on overkill, but for the most part, I don't think that anyone can say that they feel disconnected... except, possibly, for those who don't use the Internet. I'm working on that.
In the meantime, I wanted to share a great, thought-provoking blog post I discovered entitled, "The Church in the Cloud."
Here's an excerpt:
"What do you think might happen if the church adopted this “cloud” thing and consciously broke the connections that tie us to a physical location?
"What would it look like, for instance, if we learned to do community in the cloud? For one thing, we'd figure out how to be in each other's lives all the time, not just on Sundays when we all showed up at the same place. We'd find ways to be together, to pray together, to worship together, and to share each other's struggles. Our community would come from our being connected to each other through the work of God, through Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, and not attendance at the same event."
I encourage you to read the whole article, and to share your thoughts on it with me.
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” – Phillipians 3:12-14
This past weekend was one of the best that I have had in a very long time. On Sunday, many friends and family joined us as we celebrated the dedication of our new church, Acres of Hope Christian Fellowship, and my official ordination as pastor. 
It has been a long journey, heartbreaking at times, but through it all, the Lord sustained me through the love, support, and edification of my family, friends, and co-workers in Christ. We all have had many opportunities to become stuck in the miry pits of discouragement and bitterness, yet each time any one of us found ourselves sinking, the Lord led us ever onward and upward.
Forgetting the past doesn’t negate our testimonies, nor our memories of the people and places that have comprised the stories of our lives; rather, it involves leaving behind the hurts and heartbreaks of our past, however recent or remote. We may carry our scars, our limps, our still raw wounds, but we “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
We may not have arrived yet, but we cast our cares on Him, lay aside the sins and burdens that so easily hinder us, and run the race with the complete freedom that is found in Jesus Christ.
"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!" - Jewel The Unicorn in The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis
Readers of C. S. Lewis's "The Chronicles of Narnia" will recognize the reference to one of the last lines in the Narnia stories. I was first drawn to the books in my childhood, but over the years, as I have re-read them over and over, I am constantly amazed at the wealth of meaning and symbolism packed in to these seven all-too-short books.
Some scenes and lines have stuck out in my mind since way back when, though at the time, I didn't grasp the greater messages implied. Since then, I have greatly enjoyed revisiting the stories from time to time, simultaneously reliving the wonder and excitement I experienced back then, and also seeing the stories through my son's eyes. Most of all, as an adult, I have appreciated Lewis's expression of his faith in a fresh way that engages the imagination and challenges the spirit.
As a worship leader, the scene quoted above resonates with me. Here is a group of beings discovering the "real" Narnia for the first time, experiencing yet greater heights of joy with every passing moment. I find that same sense of the wonder of God's amazing love and grace in the book of Ephesians:
"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
There are moments in my life, in the midst of the everyday living, where my spirit catches just a glimpse of these things, and I experience a clarity of thought and emotion, as if I have just awoken from a long dreamless sleep. My finite mind cannot comprehend of infinity and eternity, and yet, I love to spend time out under a canopy of stars, feeling awed at the evidence of a truth I cannot fully conceive of. And yet, I experience a strange joy to know that the stark reality of the universe and time without beginning or end has nothing to do with my understanding or acceptance. It just WAS, and IS, and will ALWAYS BE, and I am but a speck of dust in a split second of time. Strange, that such thoughts that should depress me instead bring me a sense of wonder and peace.
In the light of space and time, and the God who exists in both, I am nothing, yet the Bible says He knows my name, that He knew me before I was born, and that someday, I will live forever in His presence. I imagine that each moment will bring greater joy and wonder than the one before as we finally see Him face to face.
Today, live beyond the mundane. Lift your eyes beyond your circumstances. Lie back under a blanket of stars, and let the infinite speak to your finite mind. Dare to hope. Dare to believe.
"Come further up, come further in!"
