Master 201: Five Reflections for the Church, Part 14
Responding to Christmas.
Composed: 03 January 2010.
In mid-November, members of my church gathered together for the second summit of the Focusing process. There we began to look at some details about the composition and needs of our city. I was especially struck by what community leaders were identifying as the most significant needs of people in Riverside: to feel loved and secure; to understand the ‘higher power’; to develop a sense of moral compass in the younger generations; to get answers to life-questions, a sense of worth, and help with life’s pain. We also talked about the composition and resources of our own church and began to brainstorm together about how our church could most effectively impact the community.
The second Focusing summit took place a week after our annual society meeting and a week before Thanksgiving. Both of these were wonderful occasions for remembering and celebrating God’s goodness and all that He is doing in our lives and through our church. During this season of Advent, Pastors Dan and Lee drew our attention to the wonders of God’s love—looking at how God’s love is like no other, how it is manifested in His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, how it will be victorious to reign, and how it is from everlasting to everlasting.
Hopefully you’ve taken time to reflect on and actively respond to the outpouring of God’s love and grace that the Christmas season celebrates. It’s often hard, amidst all the hustle and bustle, to keep Jesus Christ at the center. Yet we need to take seriously that it will be impossible for us to meaningfully impact our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ unless that gospel is also present and active in our lives.
Think again about the list of significant needs that our community leaders identified. Consider that it’s during the holiday season that many people have the hardest time coping with pain, with feelings of worthlessness, and with a sense of insecurity and being un-loved. The question we face, then, is this: Are we ready and equipped to point people in the direction of the answer? Sure it’s easy to say, “God is the solution. God is the answer,” but is that truth being lived out in our own lives?
Think about this: How many Christians do not feel loved and secure? How many have little or no understanding of who God is and what He is like? How many Christian young people (and Christian adults) have a mixed-up moral compass? How many Christians are going through life without a clear sense of direction or purpose? How many Christians struggle with feelings of worthlessness and are just not able to cope with life’s pain? The sad truth is that many, many Christians are struggling with the exact same issues and needs that face their non-Christian neighbors. And my goal here is not to rebuke or shame anyone for failing to meet some kind of standard or expectation, but just to raise a serious question that we need to face as we look at trying to impact our community and culture for Christ. If we, Christians, have the same problems and needs as the culture surrounding us, how can we claim to have the solution? Do we really understand what it is that we are recommending to others? Are we living out what we preach and proclaim to the world?
Two thousand years ago or so, the eternal Son of God descended from His throne in glory and took on a human nature. He was born of a virgin in a stable on the outskirts of a small village in an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire. And in that simple, unpretentious setting, God Almighty, the Great I AM, touched the world in a totally new and different way. In the hills outside of that tiny village, angels appeared to a group of shepherds and announced this "good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people". And they proclaimed,
"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." -- Luke 2:14 (emphasis mine.)
Who would have thought that something that began so simply could have had such monumental significance: a little child, wrapped in rags and resting in an animal's feeding trough--yet He was the Son of God, the Light of the world, and the image of the invisible God. Glory, grace, and truth accompanied Him. Life was in Him. And not only did He point the way to a full and rich relationship with God; but He was and is that one, true Way. To those trapped in guilt and shame, He offers mercy and grace. To those who have been rejected He offers love and acceptance. To those who are sick and suffering, He offers healing and comfort. To those who are caught up in destructive lifestyles, He offers a new way to live. To those who recognize their profound need and broken condition, He offers nothing less than a loving, interactive relationship with the God of the universe.
All of this, and more, is available to anyone who responds to the good news. When that group of shepherds heard the angel's announcement, they left the fields to find that baby in a manger. Wise men from the East saw the star, and they left their homes and traveled hundreds of miles to find and worship the King of the Jews. Fishermen heard His invitation and they laid aside their nets to follow Him. Now, how will we respond to this good news? Will we set aside what we are doing in order to draw close to the Christ-child? Amidst all the busyness and craziness of this season and this world, that's not always easy to do. But that simple decision might just make all the difference in the world.
As we enter into 2010, I hope that you will continue to be reminded of the glory and magnificence of the gift that God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that you will experience the presence and reality of Christ’s love and grace and peace, as you choose to draw close to Him, in such a way that it will become evident to everyone that you, also, are a child of God. The Christmas season has not really ended. Each and every day we have the opportunity to celebrate and respond to Christ’s Incarnation. Each and every day we can choose to walk with Him.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Composed: 03 January 2010.
In mid-November, members of my church gathered together for the second summit of the Focusing process. There we began to look at some details about the composition and needs of our city. I was especially struck by what community leaders were identifying as the most significant needs of people in Riverside: to feel loved and secure; to understand the ‘higher power’; to develop a sense of moral compass in the younger generations; to get answers to life-questions, a sense of worth, and help with life’s pain. We also talked about the composition and resources of our own church and began to brainstorm together about how our church could most effectively impact the community.
The second Focusing summit took place a week after our annual society meeting and a week before Thanksgiving. Both of these were wonderful occasions for remembering and celebrating God’s goodness and all that He is doing in our lives and through our church. During this season of Advent, Pastors Dan and Lee drew our attention to the wonders of God’s love—looking at how God’s love is like no other, how it is manifested in His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, how it will be victorious to reign, and how it is from everlasting to everlasting.
Hopefully you’ve taken time to reflect on and actively respond to the outpouring of God’s love and grace that the Christmas season celebrates. It’s often hard, amidst all the hustle and bustle, to keep Jesus Christ at the center. Yet we need to take seriously that it will be impossible for us to meaningfully impact our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ unless that gospel is also present and active in our lives.
Think again about the list of significant needs that our community leaders identified. Consider that it’s during the holiday season that many people have the hardest time coping with pain, with feelings of worthlessness, and with a sense of insecurity and being un-loved. The question we face, then, is this: Are we ready and equipped to point people in the direction of the answer? Sure it’s easy to say, “God is the solution. God is the answer,” but is that truth being lived out in our own lives?
Think about this: How many Christians do not feel loved and secure? How many have little or no understanding of who God is and what He is like? How many Christian young people (and Christian adults) have a mixed-up moral compass? How many Christians are going through life without a clear sense of direction or purpose? How many Christians struggle with feelings of worthlessness and are just not able to cope with life’s pain? The sad truth is that many, many Christians are struggling with the exact same issues and needs that face their non-Christian neighbors. And my goal here is not to rebuke or shame anyone for failing to meet some kind of standard or expectation, but just to raise a serious question that we need to face as we look at trying to impact our community and culture for Christ. If we, Christians, have the same problems and needs as the culture surrounding us, how can we claim to have the solution? Do we really understand what it is that we are recommending to others? Are we living out what we preach and proclaim to the world?
Two thousand years ago or so, the eternal Son of God descended from His throne in glory and took on a human nature. He was born of a virgin in a stable on the outskirts of a small village in an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire. And in that simple, unpretentious setting, God Almighty, the Great I AM, touched the world in a totally new and different way. In the hills outside of that tiny village, angels appeared to a group of shepherds and announced this "good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people". And they proclaimed,
"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." -- Luke 2:14 (emphasis mine.)
Who would have thought that something that began so simply could have had such monumental significance: a little child, wrapped in rags and resting in an animal's feeding trough--yet He was the Son of God, the Light of the world, and the image of the invisible God. Glory, grace, and truth accompanied Him. Life was in Him. And not only did He point the way to a full and rich relationship with God; but He was and is that one, true Way. To those trapped in guilt and shame, He offers mercy and grace. To those who have been rejected He offers love and acceptance. To those who are sick and suffering, He offers healing and comfort. To those who are caught up in destructive lifestyles, He offers a new way to live. To those who recognize their profound need and broken condition, He offers nothing less than a loving, interactive relationship with the God of the universe.
All of this, and more, is available to anyone who responds to the good news. When that group of shepherds heard the angel's announcement, they left the fields to find that baby in a manger. Wise men from the East saw the star, and they left their homes and traveled hundreds of miles to find and worship the King of the Jews. Fishermen heard His invitation and they laid aside their nets to follow Him. Now, how will we respond to this good news? Will we set aside what we are doing in order to draw close to the Christ-child? Amidst all the busyness and craziness of this season and this world, that's not always easy to do. But that simple decision might just make all the difference in the world.
As we enter into 2010, I hope that you will continue to be reminded of the glory and magnificence of the gift that God gave us in His Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that you will experience the presence and reality of Christ’s love and grace and peace, as you choose to draw close to Him, in such a way that it will become evident to everyone that you, also, are a child of God. The Christmas season has not really ended. Each and every day we have the opportunity to celebrate and respond to Christ’s Incarnation. Each and every day we can choose to walk with Him.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 9:43 AM
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