One of our pastors, Jon Reid, recently told me of a book with the title of this post. I love this as a way to describe what life in a Christian church is.
Life really begins when your relationship with God is restored. God originally made man to obey and enjoy Him forever, but our sins have separated us from God. The story of human existence since Adam and Eve is the story of God's plan to restore man to a loving relationship with Himself. God came to earth as a human being in the person of Jesus to purchase us out of slavery to sin and back to Himself. He paid the price with His own blood. God has set out to convince man of our sin, and to bring us to repentance for our sin and to complete trust in Jesus as our Savior from our sin. God can still be Who He is - totally holy - and yet, forgive our sin, because the price for sin has been paid by Jesus. When you turn from your sin and accept this reconciliation made available to you by faith in Jesus, the Bible says you are born again. Once you are born again, life becomes what God originally wanted it to be, a life of enjoying His goodness.
A church is a group of reconciled Christians (believers in Christ for salvation) who come together to celebrate God's goodness in each of our lives, and to hear more from the Bible about His loving plans for us. The Bible says God wants us to encourage one another in our new life. We come from all different backgrounds and histories, but the thing that unites us is our common Savior. Now, we're all friends in the pursuit of God.
The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Friends are such a great help as we live this new life with our relationship with God restored. Friends help us to never turn our back on God again. They encourage us to trust God when times are tough and temptations come. They lift us up when we fall and rejoice with us when we stand. Christian friends help us to be real and transparent with our lives, and remind us of the unconditional love of Jesus, both by the words from the Bible they speak to us and by the way they treat us themselves. The Bible says, Two are better than one...For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
Personally, I love pursuing God in the company of friends. I need my friends to help me become all God saved me out of sin to be. Thank You, God, for Christian friends! Thank You for the church!
Comments (1)
Here is an extended quote by Richard Lamb from the book mentioned by Ted.
"In all of our culture's mad dash toward whatever is next, I believe God is what you and I are actually looking for. Not just ideas about God, not just the truth about God, but God himself. Whether we fully acknowledge it or not, we seek his presence and his power. We long to see the reality of his life and work available to us. But we want (and need) to find him with our friends. This journey is worth undertaking, and we want to share it with others. We want to participate in the quest for the ultimate in the context of the intimate. We want to know deeply and to be deeply known. If what you want is friendship - deep, satisfying, purposeful, long-lasting friendship - I believe the only way to find it is to pursue God. If what you want is God - the certainty of his work in your life, the sense of his empowerment and blessing on your activity and pursuits - I believe that desire will bring you into contact and deeper relationship with a community of friends shaped by the same pursuit."
Wow! I am excited about the possibility of being part of such a community. At the same time, the prospect is somewhat daunting because I know I will be stretched to love God and others like never before. I know apart from His grace, I cannot love like that, and yet, His grace is enough! Thus, I am ready to jump in...anyone else game?
Grace to you!
Jon
Posted by Jon Reid | March 19, 2007 11:19 PM