Conduct in Unity

We have received an invitation to become part of the family of God. And we have chosen to accept this invitation. Now, we ought to act as people who are part of that family.

We all have equal standing before God. So, we should not behave as though we stand above or below one another. We should live in humility, because we all live in need … of God and of one another. Has someone failed you? Have you failed others? We all fail. We all need help. That should strongly motivate us to be gentle, forgiving and patient with each other. Like begets like. And we are going to need someone to treat us that way.

Show love by giving room for failures and differences. Failures and differences disrupt any family. We should pursue peace and unity in all relationships.

Unity and Grace

For followers of Jesus, unity is one of the primary values. Maintaining unity has utmost importance. We need to behave in ways that maximize peaceful relationships. We need to be humble, patient, and gentle with each other.

But he also made us individuals. He created us to do god. He gave individuals to equip God’s family to complete these good things. As God’s family serves each other as individuals, and as members of the family, the family grows. The whole family attains Christ’s image. We will speak truth to one another, motivated by love. So, we will all grow into His image. He gives grace, so all parts grow and builds the body, as each one fills his purpose.

He gives grace that powers the growth. But the growth will not come if each part does not do its job.

Unity

The church is comprised of all the people who follow Jesus. The church of God really is a melting pot. White Americans. African Americans. African Africans. Korean. Chinese. Copt. Assyrians. Indians from North America, South America and India.

We don’t see the church this way. We see the small groups sitting together. People are used to being with people like themselves. People are more comfortable in homogeneous groups. That’s why we see the church like we do.

God intends the church to be one new humanity, loving, helping and welcoming one another. God tore down the dividing wall. So, how do we mesh the multitude of Jesus-pictures, the right of people to go where they are comfortable – to worship in a style they prefer, with music, dress, times, and style they prefer – with the expression of love and unity that Jesus requires?

Good Deeds

Good works do not gain right standing with God. Good works are what we are created for. Many treat good deeds, going to church, giving money as if they are they cause of right standing. New life in Christ is the origin of good works.

A seed is planted. It germinates and produces a plant. The plant produces fruit. Seed may come from the fruit. But seed only come when a seed has life, and yields more life. Life is already there.

Communication

Cell phones and computers are becoming an ever present, omnipresent part of modern life. Texts, emails and chats are more and more prevalent. “Texting” is communication. But it is not complete communication. People who are married to their computer\cell phone can give themselves the illusion of connection. But, in the same way, learning is fuller when it impacts more centers of the brain, communication when it impacts more centers of the brain. Touch, sound, sight – symbols, pictures – smell all enhance and enlarge communication. (Taste can add to communication too.)

“Texting” is true communication. I would not want to remove any form of this type of communication. But face-to-face encounters are the best form of communication. We are losing out by not being in close contact with people.

God established Israel for a number of things. To provide the law for the nations, receiving God’s heart and mind. To prepare for the coming of Christ, the Promised One. To bless them, so they would be a blessing.

But Israel’s heart turned inward. They became more interested in being blessed, than being a beacon to call the nations into God’s community.

So, God transitioned to a new phase of His plan. Instead of calling all peoples to be part of His people, He created a new people. He invited that people to be His people. He would unite them, reconcile them to Himself, make peace, and charge them with inviting the world to unite with Him. His call to fill the earth with His presence is being completed. Segments of this new community are being founded and built around the world. He promised that people from every nation, tribe, people and language will be part of His community.

Revelation AND Wisdom

In order to know God, a person needs revelation. It is basically an attempt to know the unknowable. We need someone to open a door for us to look inside.

But revelation is not enough. Wisdom is also needed to rein in our imaginations. We are more than capable of going off the deep end. God gave us the Bible as a safeguard. We can have something to evaluate our revelations with. Was it the Spirit, the devil, or our own flaky thing?

We yield ourselves to God and accept His paradigm. This process molds our hearts and minds. As a result, we can see for ourselves how good and perfect God’s will is.

The first part of that will is that we, as human beings, are not the center of the universe. The sooner we see and live that way, the better it is for us, the better it is for the world. Not only does this mean that God is the center of all existence, but it means we do not travel through it alone.

God has chosen to place us in a body. It is His will that contribute to this context. He has enabled us to contribute. It is His will we use that enablement. If a person only attends a weekly meeting and contributes his tithe (Don’t misunderstand me. Those things are important. They cannot be neglected.) that person is not walking in the will of God.

Paradigms

We can see that mankind has been living contrary to God’s purposes and standards. We were either ignoring God or were rebelling against Him. But now we are yielding our bodies to Him, so our lives have to change. God’s standards become our standards. God’s purposes become our purposes.

The change comes from the inside. The current term used is “paradigm shift.” A paradigm is a model or a picture of a system. Choosing to follow Jesus changes a person’s model of the world. (I think each person has two models. There is a model of how the world should work. There is a model of how the world does work.)

We shift to a paradigm with Jesus as the focal point, and everything realigns itself to have a new relationship with the center. Other nodes are realigned along the edge. We have a new understanding about how interactions with the core work. We develop new protocols and responses. We develop a new framework through which to make decisions, to evaluate options and to evaluate results.

I've evidently been on a blogging vacation and not knowing it. I have been playing with a book idea and have spent a lot of time with it. It'll need a lot more time. But there are other things I have been thinking about besides the book topic. So, I am going to try to do both for awhile.

Given man’s status before God (sinner, helpless, rebel), given god’s response of mercy, we should choose the most reasonable response – changing allegiance and moving to be with God. Accept the shift in paradigm, so we do not live with the world’s mind-set. The, we will be able to demonstrate that God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect.

This is the first mind-set alteration. Do not consider yourself too highly. Be very serious about your estimation of place and importance. God has provided an interdependence, but it is based in diversity. He has given interlocking functions. The different functions meet different needs. As needs are met, love is given. Unity and growth are created. Growth becomes a by-product of love and service.

Right thinking must progress to right acting. Right acting demands we serve and love one another.

We become other focused. God has created us to live fueled by unity. Unity is designed to function as we focus outward, using our gifts to meet needs. And God has given each of His children gifts. So, if you have a gift, do it!

Living Sacrifice

We need to recognize and understand God’s mercy. Look at its scope, and its effects. Look at people – their helplessness, their continual dark hearts. God has given so much. It is only reasonable to expect people to give much also. To sacrifice their lives. But dead people do God no good. So, it is a sacrifice of allegiance. More over, it is a life that has changed. A life that turns from the darkness and consecrated to God, pleasing to God.

Beyond the Walls

Many Christians are under the mistaken impression that life with Jesus is only encompassed in the church meeting. They act as though the only place to encounter God is “there”, the only place to serve God is “there.”

A large part of the church’s purpose is to engage the world, to rub the world’s face on Jesus’ robe. Part of that is inviting and accompanying people to a church meeting. (Take them to your house. Introduce them to your family.) Part of that is bringing Jesus to their house.

In the Bible, the pastors do not lead the church. In the Bible, the elders lead the church. And pastors are sitting all throughout the room. We believe the scripture when it says we are all priests. But only a few are allowed to do priestly things. (We share Christ with someone; they choose to follow Him. We share baptism; they choose to be baptized. We call someone to do the baptizing, when we are priests of God Most High.) It is not the senior pastor’s job to do the priestly things. It is the senior pastor’s job to equip the church – all the other pastors – to do the priestly things. Everyone who follows Jesus should be able to preach a sermon, cast out demons, pray for the sick, give counsel, pray for other needs, baptize, initiate the Lord’s supper.

We put god in a box. We put Jesus-followers in a box. We put the church in a box.

Worship Always

Live a life of worship and continual renewal. We should be giving our lives to serve God, and continually gaining a new perspective on God, the world, ourselves and the relationship among these things.

We need to understand our role in God’s purposes. We are vital to its success, but we are not indispensable. (There are no appendices in the body of Christ, but the only indispensable person is the Holy Spirit.)

Most people view themselves as either “if I stopped what I am doing, this place will fall apart” or “I am warming a spot on the bench.” There are no spectators on Jesus’ team.

We need to realize that your “job” may not be in the building. There is service in people’s homes, or under their cars. There is teaching and encouraging beyond Sunday School or the Sermon. There is serving, loving and investing in inner city neighborhoods, UD students or ELI students. There are thousands of places prayer should be applied.

Why do we believe the world instead of Jesus? Jesus says there is a problem in the world, and the solution involves a relationship with Him. And people with a relationship with Him are part of the solution. Our time with Him in the worship meeting is supposed to affect the world.

Influence

When a movement begins that has tremendous promise for good, magnetic, charismatic leader and strong surges of growth, it will not be viewed as a positive when that charismatic leader is executed as a criminal. Indeed, it will be the death knell of that movement. Yet the Jesus movement not only views such an execution as positive and an advance, but it is the culmination, the pinnacle of that leader’s work. That “failure” is total victory in the eyes of Scripture.

Our Father is the God of paradoxes. Failure becomes success. Weakness becomes strength. The path to great influence is promotion, personal magnetism, money, connections and polished speechmaking. Is that what the Scripture says? Scripture says the path to great influence is humility, service, love, faith, prayer and a connection with the Creator of the Universe.

During the last elections, one party came roaring into power. The other party was pushed out of while sections of the country. Pundits, politicians and reporters sent up a roar of rejoicing at the apparent political dominion. Is that what Jesus sought?

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Jesus had the power of dominion. But He chose not to use it. Indeed, He chose the opposite.

“Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing.”

Love is ...

Life runs ahead at break-neck speed. It also comes to a screeching halt, and everything goes flying. Life can come crashing down on people.

God’s family should realize when the roof has fallen in on someone, and move in to put clean up, push everything back into place.

God’s family should possibly even monitor others, and move in to for a support team and prevent a collapse in the first place. Strengthen the beams and joists. Erect pillars.

Love is ...

One thing is axiomatic to Jesus’ disciples: in everything Jesus said He intended to promote God’s purposes, strengthen the relationship between God and His people, and among His people, and draw people to unite with His community. What He encouraged led to building, enhancing and promoting these things. What He encouraged led to wholeness, integrity and authentic living.

How can someone rejoice when people experience misery and alienation? We rejoice when God’s truth is applied and people experience peace, growth, rest and health.

Love is ...

Coming into contact with other human beings inevitably leads to periodic collisions. How we handle the collisions is related to how we view the ones we collide with.

What were their intentions? What am I hanging onto? What is more important: this person? This relationship? My feelings?

To Jesus (falsely accused, illegally executed), the people and the relationships were more important than His suffering. If we have the attitude of Jesus, all reminders of these collisions will be dismantled bit by bit until any suspicion of their existence can only be a matter of speculation.

Love is ...

There are numerous things that get under people’s skin: aggressive driving, tail gating, negativity, whining, frustrated expectations, or misunderstandings. Being sick or tired can make little things grow very big.

And these can light a short fuse with people – either because they are the cause or because they are in the area. Often our focus is glued to an issue, and we respond to the issue with people getting damaged incidentally.

Are people reckless, trouble-makers, or selfish? Are they afraid of losing their job by being late again? Or do they feel like no one listens to them, or takes them seriously? Or maybe they don’t understand?

Usually, we cannot control the causes of irritation, but we can control our responses to people. The response God desires is a longer fuse and extending grace.

Love is ...

Sometimes, it seems like people have an internal need to reveal themselves to others. We need to be known. It is part of our need for community. We hope that when we open our hearts, someone will listen. Someone listening affirms who we are. It affirms our acceptance and worth.

(People don’t open up, because they are unsure how they will be received. Maybe they will be rejected. Maybe the contents of their hearts will be mocked and ridiculed.)

We all know people who only seem to be able to talk about themselves. Any event is interpreted solely by its relationship to them.

(Are these people convinced they are the only ones with worth? Or are they convinced of their worthlessness, and are continually seeking someone to listen, and thereby let them know they are wrong?)

There are people are encouragers. Their focus is not themselves, but out to other people and how they may able to affirm who they are in their hearts. There are people who are servants. Not only is their focus outward, but they are alert for needs … and consider ways and means for meeting them.