The People of God

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." — Ephesians 2:13-22

Yesterday was Commitment Sunday at church. It's a wonderful time of celebration and looking ahead to the new year, saying our Yes to God's call to join in the work of His Kingdom through the local church. But it was also a worship service, one that featured a challenging message, especially when we consider the church in the world.

I loved the way the music in service highlighted the passage (above). It's really about who Jesus is, what He came to do, and who we should be, as the people of God, in response. I was particularly struck by the lyric, "And they will know us by our love." That should be a true statement, but is it?

The movie "Angels & Demons," written by Dan Brown, isn't a Christian movie. But it features a sequence that I think is one of the best descriptions of faith as Tom Hanks' professor Robert Langdon is asked by a priest if he believes in God. His response is beautiful. But it's proceeded by something that's instructive, I think.

The priest asks Langdon if he believed in God, and Langdon's first response to was to offer what bothered him about the church. The priest replied, "I did not ask if you believe what man says about God, I asked if you believe in God." It's a powerful moment, and an instructive one. It forces you to consider how we, as the people of God, can be an impediment to the Gospel when we fail to practice what we preach.

This is the point of the DC Talk song, What If I Stumble, which opens with this quote from Brennan Manning, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

We are coming into Advent Season, a time when we light candles four Sundays in a row. Those candles represent Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love — all the attributes we ascribe to Christ and that are supposed to be mirrored in Christ's people. This passage above talks about Jesus coming to be the bridge of peace.

But when we look at the church today, do we see those things? If I'm being honest my answer would be no. Guess who else isn't seeing those things — the unbelieving world. If we really believe in the power of the Gospel, the church needs to model the Gospel. It's a simple call. It's a challenging call. It's a necessary call.