May the mumbling commence!
What would a perfect church look like? The Apostle Paul gives us some hints toward the end of his letter to the Colossian church. Read a passage from chapter three below:
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Verses 9-17)
Our former arbitrary divisions mean nothing anymore. In a perfect church, the only distinguishing feature would be Christ in all the people. We are no longer Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives. Christ has brought down all the arbitrary walls we seem so set on building.
We will wear new spiritual and attitudinal clothing. Did you notice some of the fruit of the Spirit sprinkled about this passage? The most important is love, which binds them all together. But I also see compassion and kindness and humility and gentleness and patience and peace and thankfulness. A perfect church would bear these fruits of the Spirit.
A perfect church will also embrace the idea of forgiveness through the empowerment of these fruit of the Spirit. Yes, forgiveness can be helped along by understanding where the other person is coming from – compassion. Yes, forgiveness can be built upon not insisting on your own way – humility. Forgiveness takes time, so we need a patience fueled by peace.
Wow! How do we get there? It is a constant journey. Paul gives some hints at the end of this passage. Teach and admonish one another through the Scriptures. Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. In fact, whatever we do should be done in the name of Christ so that praise and glory and honor might come to him.
Sometimes, it is hard to sing. And sometimes it’s not about ability. Sometimes difficulty in singing is a spiritual block. How do we open ourselves to fully praise God? Read from Colossians chapter four.
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Verses 2-6)
The answer is prayer – specific prayer for others. Prayer for others gets our mind off of our own set of problems and helps us to know that we are not alone. And we also offer specific prayers for ourselves – particularly in expanding the family of God through actions and words of grace to whoever crosses our path.
And prayer is an extremely difficult wrestling match between our wills and the will of God – just as Jacob once wrestled the angel of God. Read another passage from Colossians four.
Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. (Verses 12-13)
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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