Hi, Friends,
This Sunday marks the final week of our Ephesians sermon series. If you have followed along with us by reading weekly and listening to the sermons you know that this is the work for which we are called to build up Christ’s church. We cannot go out and make disciples if we ourselves are not living into our Christlikeness, and to do that we must be committed to following the path of Christ ourselves and with each other.
I have spent the past few months working on paperwork for my ordination.
The final question of the leadership portion states:
"For the sake of the mission of Jesus Christ in the world and the most effective witness to the Christian gospel and in consideration of your influence as an ordained minister, are you willing to make a complete dedication of yourself to the highest ideals of the Christian life?"
Now, this is expected to be answered in the affirmative, as each ordained clergyperson is expected to live as an example of Christian living. But omit the section on ordained ministry and ask that question of yourself as well.
I think this is what we have been trying to speak to in these past five weeks. We work to live a life of Christ not simply for ourselves but because it impacts the mission of Jesus Christ in the world. How we speak to each other, what we do daily (in-person and behind keyboards), and the ways in which we respond to what is going on in our world are seen by the world. Our actions and our words are a part of the Christian witness. If we spend our days tearing each other down, going against Christ’s teachings, and building dividing walls to cloister ourselves off from people who are different than us or who scare us, that mars our witness as Christ’s church.
Remember, as we enter into a season when dividing walls will surely be built that we are members of Christ’s body, and just as we feed and care for our own bodies, we are to feed and care for the church. What we do for ourselves has an impact on others. May we take this knowledge and be emboldened to live faithfully into the path Christ has set before us.
With peace and love,
Pastor Rachel
Comentarios