What does it mean to be the church in our time of dramatic political and social shifts happening daily?
As always, we must take care that we avoid letting broader culture define our identity.
Contemplating this question of identity, we must let the wisdom of Scripture draw us back to the authentic nature of who we are as a people.
In Ephesians 1:3-6 we read:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (ESV)
Scripture describes us as a people chosen to live lives that are set apart and pure, lives that exemplify His love to those we encounter. We have been adopted into God’s family. We have a home, a people, a King, and a Kingdom of inheritance. Theologian Karl Barth puts it this way:
“In Jesus Christ He has chosen man from all eternity as His own, for life in His kingdom, to be a member of His people, His possession.” — Karl Barth
We are the people God said “yes” to…through His birth, His teachings, His Way, His death, and His resurrection. But as the people of God, we too are the ones (as Randy Harris puts it) who have said yes back to His yes.
And each person has the opportunity to respond to God’s yes and become His chosen as well.
And I can think of nothing more beautiful than being a part of God’s chosen family.
May we exemplify the beauty of our King through our lives as chosen citizens of His Kingdom.
May we live a common life that displays His holiness, goodness, and truth to a world in deep need.
May we be the people who share God’s “yes” with the world.
Grace and Peace in Christ,
Matthew S. Miller