Photo by...Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash
A student survey conducted at one of our local schools determined that young people see the church as being full of old people and pews. And they think that the pews have to go. There’s some good news in that survey, they didn’t say the old people should go, only the pews.
Think for a moment: How does their perception match reality?
We might immediately begin to defend the pews. They've been good enough for generations. They keep us awake. They haven’t killed anyone.
Or we might be offended that they’ve labelled us as old. We might argue that we’re not nearly as old as our grandparents were at the same age.
We might want to join James and John to ask Jesus whether we should call down fire from heaven and destroy them.
But before we get too defensive, these young people are crying out for the church to recognise and value them. They don’t think the church cares about them, they don’t think we care. They think the church is only interested in the people who’re already involved, which to them means old people.
I wonder whether they’re any different to those of any age who aren’t connected to our churches. Would the whole ‘unchurched’ and 'previously-churched’ community agree that we don’t care. Would they contend that we’re only interested in ourselves.
If we’re so busy polishing and defending our pews then they have to go. If there’s anything in our church that uses up our time at the expense of living our lives for Jesus then it has to go.
Even more urgently we have to go. Not leave the church, the community of God’s people, but go with the good news that because God loves and cares for every single person in this world so do we.
“As you go”, Jesus says, “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus cares about this because he has ‘skin-in-the-game’. He died for each and every one we encounter as we go about our lives.
How do we, as individuals and a church, need to change so that no one in our community will feel that we don’t care about them?
Please give me a job description
by Emma Strelan Werner
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32).
Read Ephesians 4:25–32
Allow me to pull out my ‘I learnt a tiny bit of biblical Greek’ card for a moment to point out some cheeky wordplay from Paul in this passage. In verse 32, the Greek word for ‘be kind’ is chrestos – strikingly similar to the Greek for Christ. So, when Paul tells us to ‘be kind’ to one another, perhaps he’s hinting that we ought to also ‘be Christ’ to one another. After all, that is, in fact, what we still call ourselves as Christians – our job is to be little Christs.
But there’s nothing I fear more than being given a job title with no blueprint or direction for what doing that role actually looks like. Perhaps many Christians have found that once they put their faith in Jesus and are told they are a new creation in him, they have no idea what that even means in practice!
Well, thankfully, we get a job description for a ‘new creation’ right here in Ephesians.
A new person in Christ:
- tells the truth (verse 25)
- knows when to let go of anger so it doesn’t lead to sin (verse 26)
- works honestly and gives generously (verse 28)
- speaks for the building up, not tearing down of others (verse 29)
- lives in a way that does not grieve the Holy Spirit (verse 30)
- controls emotions that lead to hurting others (verse 31)
- seeks to show the same kindness that God has shown them (verse 32).
This can be a nice list to spend some time considering: ‘In which area can I be more Christ-like right now?’ But, in all these things, a theme becomes evident: as Christians, the needs of others are to be our first concern, and Christ is the greatest example of that.
There’s one thing even better than a job description: having the person who did that job before you demonstrate what it looks like.
When we struggle to know what ‘being Christ’ looks like in a specific situation and can’t find a Bible verse giving us the answer, we can turn to Christ as our example. I don’t have to forge my own path ahead as a Christian, even in this ever-changing world, because Christ goes before me.
Lord Jesus, thank you for demonstrating love perfectly. Give me a hunger to know you more, so that more and more of you shines out of me. Bring to my attention where I can be living better as your new creation today. Amen.
Emma works part-time as a content producer at Lutheran Media, where she creates the Messages of Hope radio show and podcast. On her other days, she takes freelance video jobs, filming weddings and all manner of projects that come along. Having gotten married herself in May, she’s enjoying this new season of life with her husband, Tim.
Costly forgiveness
by Emma Strelan Werner
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them (Luke 17:4).
Read Luke 17:1–4
‘There is nothing particularly Christian about the practice of forgiveness. Whatever our religion, we must request and grant forgiveness almost every day of our lives’ (Douglas R A Hare).
If this quote is true, what makes Christian forgiveness unique?
Well, our sort of forgiveness, the kind that forgives the same person seven times (and more) in a day, is costly.
It is no small endeavour to forgive as Jesus instructs us to here. If someone wrongs you once? No worries! You can say, ‘It was a mistake, you’re forgiven, let’s move on!’ What if someone wrongs you a second time? Then you start to think, ‘Hmm, okay, that hurt again, but I want to keep this relationship with you, so I forgive you.’ But when the pattern goes on, and on and on, the pain and struggle to give up the anger gets harder and harder.
Forgiving someone who you know will probably hurt you again isn’t a small thing. But we do it for those who we truly love. We’re willing to accept that pain, because we know our Father in Heaven has forgiven us without limit.
When we understand the immensity of forgiveness offered to us by Jesus, what right do we have to withhold forgiveness from others even if they sin against us seven times in a day?
That kind of forgiveness is costly. It costs us our pride, our anger, our need for a certain type of justice. But it cost Jesus a whole lot more.
Dear Lord, when someone seeks forgiveness from me, remind me of your grace so that I can, without hesitation, offer them a restored relationship as you have given me. Amen.
Emma works part-time as a content producer at Lutheran Media, where she creates the Messages of Hope radio show and podcast. On her other days, she takes freelance video jobs, filming weddings and all manner of projects that come along. Having gotten married herself in May, she’s enjoying this new season of life with her husband, Tim.
Woe to the backyard brewers!
by Emma Strelan Werner
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
If anyone causes one of these little ones … to stumble, it would be better for them … to be drowned in the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6).
Read Matthew 18:6–10
Woe to those who brew backyard beer and lead children around corners!
We used to live in a house with one entrance from the street and one from the laneway around the back. One day, my brother, who was 18 months old, was playing in the front yard while my dad washed the family van on the lawn. After finishing the final polish, Dad jumped in the van to drive it around the block and park it in the backyard. Seeing my dad leave the driveway, my brother decided he would follow and toddled after him. Of course, his little legs meant that by the time my dad had turned the first corner, my brother was left in the dust, now seemingly completely alone, happily toddling through the neighbourhood in just his nappy.
All was well, as father and son were soon reunited. But I can certainly say the police were not too impressed when, after a call from an observant neighbour, they came to do a welfare check only to find my dad hanging out in a backyard littered with beer bottles (from his recent home-brew endeavours). It was not a good look for a pastor’s family, to say the least.
It’s a good thing for our society to care about the safety of our children. God takes our misleading those who are ‘little’ in faith (so, perhaps most of us!) seriously, too.
Whether we intend to mislead or not, maybe a question we should consider is: ‘If someone who looks up to me in my community was to follow what I’m doing, where would that take them?’ And ‘What could this behaviour look like from an outsider’s perspective, even if it is actually quite innocent?’
It’s a good thing we have a Heavenly Father whose eye never leaves us when we wander, and a bloke called Jesus who’s worth following more than even my dad.
Dear Lord, please show me if any of my actions have led someone into sin because I didn’t think enough about the implications. Please keep me from stumbling, and may I fix my eyes on you and your ways, especially when it matters most. Amen.
Emma works part-time as a content producer at Lutheran Media, where she creates the Messages of Hope radio show and podcast. On her other days, she takes freelance video jobs, filming weddings and all manner of projects that come along. Having gotten married herself in May, she’s enjoying this new season of life with her husband, Tim.