Category: Ephesians

  • Ducks, rainbows and the Christian life

    Two mallard drakes with green heads and yellow bills swimming on dark water, one partly out of frame at the upper left, above the reflection of a rainbow arcing across the water.

    These mallard drakes are swimming near the reflection of an overhead rainbow.  I snapped the shot at Campbell Valley Regional Park some time ago. The water isn’t the clearest, and at times I have seen thin-film iridescence (an oil-slick rainbow), but in this case there actually was a rainbow above us. 

    I pictured the ducks racing toward a rainbow finish line. It was a comical thought because while all the ducks were moving in that general direction, some were facing different ways. A pair was off in the weeds, and some had stopped to eat. They certainly weren’t all in a row. They would all cross that rainbow finish line eventually, but all at their own pace. 

    In the Christian life, there are some distinct phases. We are born again by faith alone in Christ alone. That’s the moment of justification. Our sins are forgiven. We are covered by the imputed righteousness of Jesus. These newly born believers begin the lifelong process of sanctification (being set apart for God and made more like Jesus).

    Like the ducks, we are all moving and being changed at different rates. Some are moving forward, others slipping backward. Sometimes we get distracted by the things of the world and end up off in the weeds. Every Christian is at a different point in the journey. All of us have the same finish line in mind, but the timing of our crossing isn’t the same. God fixes it for each of us individually.

    It’s more of a journey than a race, just as the ducks weren’t truly racing, simply on the same journey together. We are moving toward the goal of glorification, that moment when we are free from all the influence of sin and revealed to be exactly who God created us to be. That will happen when we cross the finish line and go to be with Him forever.

    We’re not competing with other Christians, and it’s folly to compare our journey to theirs.  We need to look to Christ and model our lives on Him. Bob may have a different gift than you do. Sally may have a better prayer life. Tina may have a better understanding of the Scriptures. Hakim might be a better evangelist. Look not to them but to Christ.

    Jesus said … 

    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34 ESV

    Paul clearly tells us…

    Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV

    Paul reminds us…

    For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:20-21 ESV

    Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8

    I could continue citing chapter and verse for pages, but the idea is clear. Jesus is our guide.

    The destination is fixed and guaranteed. The timing is outside our control.  Let’s strive to be imitators of Christ as we journey together. What a celebration it will be when we finally all have our ducks in a row,

    Be blessed.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    We’re all headed for the same finish line, but God fixes the timing for each of us. Let’s strive to be imitators of Christ as we journey together.

    TAKEAWAY

    We’re all moving and being changed at different rates. It’s more of a journey than a race.

    It’s folly to compare our journey to other Christians’. Look not to them but to Christ.

    The destination is fixed and guaranteed. The timing is outside our control.

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  • Love One Another, Even When We Disagree 

    Perhaps the hardest commandment of them all

    Two bowls of potato salad side by side on a white-covered potluck table, one in a glass bowl dusted with paprika and one in a plastic container topped with chopped egg, surrounded by a casserole, a vegetable tray, cornbread, a slow cooker, and stacks of paper plates and napkins.

    The woman in my Aquafit class asked me a simple question: “What religion are you?” I told her I was a Christian. She gave me a puzzled look. “No. I mean, are you like a Baptist, or Anglican, one of those weird ones where people fall on the floor or what?” I should have gone with my usual answer: I’m a Christian in the Baptist tradition. It tends to answer that sort of question better for some people.

    We won’t touch the idea that Christianity isn’t a religion but a relationship today, but she had a point. People often see the church as a diverse group of competing religions, known more for what we are against than what we stand for. We can be seen as harsh, unloving and bigoted. Not a pretty picture and nothing like Jesus looked like.

    Despite our differences and faults, there is only one true Church. That doesn’t seem to stop us from diving over theological, geographic and ethnic/national lines. We argue about key doctrines, minor differences in practice and the color of the walls or carpet. We disagree on music, how the pastor should dress and church government. Should we belong to a denomination, be non-denominational, or start our own denomination? Should we ordain those in ministry, and if so, how and who?

    Which Bible translation is “really” God’s Word? Churches split over the COVID vaccine. I know of a church that burned out pastor after pastor for 40 years because, way back when, two church leaders’ wives both brought potato salad to a potluck.

    Now, there are plenty of legitimate differences, some even worth dividing over, but Jesus never commanded us to be known for the things we differ over or our hatred of certain people groups or sins. Sometimes the church’s actions must cause the Lord incredible heartache.

    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

    For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 1 John 3:11 ESV

    Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 ESV

    We all know the way we are called to act, but our flesh gets in the way, and we become poor ambassadors of Christ. We can’t always agree, nor should we, but we can handle the disagreements in love.

    Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15 -16 ESV

    We can’t live this way under our own power; we need the Holy Spirit’s help. We need to remember how Christ loves us and forgives us. We need to recall His mercy and grace, even when we have been at our worst.

    We have been given two wonderful places to practice. These are the Sunday morning gathering and our own families. We have plenty of opportunities to both give and receive grace and forgiveness. We also have opportunities to love the unlovable (and sometimes we are the unlovable).

    We are never going to get it right 100% of the time, but we can be forgiven for our mistakes. Let’s remember who we are and are called to be in Christ. Let’s make a conscious effort to start loving one another today. I know I could do better. How about you?

    SUMMARY

    We won’t always agree, but Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us start loving one another today, beginning at church and at home.

    TAKEAWAY

    Jesus never told us to be known for what we differ over or who we oppose. He said all people would know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35).

    Some differences are legitimate, and some are even worth dividing over, but we can still speak the truth in love and handle our disagreements in a way that builds up the body.

    We can’t love like this in our own strength. We need the Holy Spirit’s help and a fresh memory of Christ’s mercy toward us, and Sunday mornings and our own families are where we get to practice.

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