A few weeks ago I wrote about the power of affirmation as I shared an experience of being affirmed by several young adults. Affirmation is speaking life into a person, or as Jesus would likely put it, speaking truth into a person. For example, in John 8 when the woman was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus, he spoke the most powerfully affirming words she could hear, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and stop doing things that hurt you, you almost got yourself killed.” (Yes, I paraphrased a bit.) Imagine the power of the words, “Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus spoke truth – he did not come to condemn, but to save and to give life.
Later, in that same chapter of John, Jesus was talking to a group of Jews about who he was – the son of the Father. Then he said, “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” (The Message) I love this translation because I believe it really hits what Jesus was trying to say.
What did Jesus tell us that we can live out? The truth that we are already INcluded in him. He is the 2nd Adam who took all of humanity upon himself and became sin for us. He has redeemed us. He has reconciled us to the Father. Through Jesus we are forgiven. Through Jesus we have salvation. We are the new creation spoken of in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. In Colossians 2 Paul emphasizes that Jesus is our reality, we have been filled up in him. We’ve been raised with Christ and are already in the presence of the Father. This is the truth we live in. This is the truth that changes the way we think about God and the way we think about ourselves. This truth is our new reality. This is the truth that sets us free.
The problem is, we forget this truth and we try to live in another reality. We look in the mirror and see the old man and start to believe that’s who we are. We see sin in our lives and believe we’ve got to start over and somehow convince God that we are improving. We think we’ve let God down and we’ve disappointed him, therefore he is disappointed in us. We know our thoughts and our words and our actions aren’t good enough to be considered holy and righteous so we look at holiness and righteousness as something to acquire, something to pursue and we miss out on the reality that we already have both holiness and righteousness because of Jesus and because of the love of our Father who is more committed to us than we can ever be to him.
We forget our reality when we look around at the problems in the world and start to worry. We see the economy crumbling and we get scared about our future and we wonder if God is removing his blessings from our lives. We do this because we’ve taken our eyes off the promises of God’s faithfulness and our trust that he has things in control as part of his plan and our belief that Jesus is an exact representation of his Papa/Father. If he is good, the Father is good.
Experiencing the truth is living in the assurance of God’s commitment to us. It is knowing God is our Papa/Father which means we are his children. It is knowing that our Papa/Father loves us intimately and will never let go of us. It is knowing we are secure in our relationship with him and nothing will change his love for us. The truth sets us free because we know who we are in him.
The beauty of the gospel is that the truth also sets others free. God has invited us to participate with him in sharing this truth with others. Freedom comes when they know their Papa/Father and they know they are already forgiven, redeemed, reconciled, loved and INcluded.
What is the purpose of the church? My answer to this question has changed a number of times in my journey with Jesus. I'd rather not go over some of the answers I have given in the past, some were OK, some were just ridiculous. The answer, I believe, starts with acknowledging the church is the body of Christ.
If the church is the body of Christ, the church should reflect Christ. So who is Jesus Christ? He is first and foremost the Son of the Father. Who, then is the Father? He is God. Further understanding points out that God is Father, Son and Spirit. So if the church is the body of Christ, who is part of the Triune God, it stands to reason the church should reflect God.
Who, or what, then is God? God is love.
Would you not agree that if the church is the body of Jesus, who is part of the Triune God, who is love, the church should be known for it's love? This is exactly what Jesus said, "Then they will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Love for whom? For one another - in the body first, and also outside the body.
Paul said to do good to all, especially to the household of faith.
This makes sense. If we want to reflect who God is, and God is Papa/Father, Son and Spirit God who are in a love relationship with love that is overflowing, should the church not reflect this love relationship that is overflowing? It reminds me of what we read in Acts 3 about the early church. They devoted themselves to that relationship of love - fellowshipping, sharing meals, praying together, selling their stuff so they could share with those less fortunate. And their love for each other showed others that they were true disciples, and others wanted to be part of this community that was known for their love for each other. And God added to their number daily.
Wow!
Why has it taken me so long to see that the main purpose of the church is to reflect the love of the Father, Son and Spirit? When a church community is filled with love that overflows, that overflowing becomes a blessing to the community outside the church doors who want to be part of something so alive, and vibrant, and exciting, and fulfilling, and encouraging. God starts to move in their hearts as they begin to see the value of relationship and the value of being a disciple of Christ. And then the church grows - because God adds to the number daily.
May we reflect God's love amongst ourselves so powerfully that it brings glory to God and shines as a beacon of hope to the world. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
