Today's Word - "Our" Part 2
When his disciples asked Jesus how to pray, this is what He said;
"This, then, is how you should pray:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
Matthew 6:9-13(NIV)
Today's Reflection
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the German pastor/theologian who left the comfort of Union Seminary in New York to return to Germany to be with his family and countrymen during the time the Nazis were threatening the world. He was arrested and hanged. An outstanding new biography called “Bonhoeffer” by Eric Metaxix is now out and is worth reading.
In his book “Life Together” he writes this about how crucial it is for believers, not dream of Christian Community but to actually live it;
“Innumerable times a whole Christian community has broken down because it had sprung from a wish dream. The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it. But God’s grace speedily shatters such dreams. Just as surely as God desires to lead us to a knowledge of genuine Christian fellowship, so surely must we be overwhelmed by a great disillusionment with others, with Christians in general, and if we are fortunate, with ourselves.”
“He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter . . . . .”
Prayer
“Lord, thank you for Bonhoeffer’s words. Please Lord, prevent me from being among those who criticize what I see in other Christians. Instead lead me into actual relationship with and among those who disillusion me. And in the process, Lord, give me the gift of becoming disillusioned with myself and therefore finally become a person you can change and grow into the image of your Son. Amen”
In Colossians, the Church is one of the five things we are commended to be thankful for, for as an "institution" she is both necessary and imperfect, with both defects and virtues. We must remember that she is not an end within herself but is God's means to an end. Setting aside her spiritual implications as Christ's "body", from a worldly perspective she may be compared to a river. She would not be the water but the channel conveying the water. We never criticize the channel of the river, matters not how unsightly or imperfect it may be so long as it carries the current. Then why find fault with the church so long as she conveys the "living water of life" and directs the "current of salvation" to men? The Church, like other istitutions, is to us what we are to her; if we make he central in our worldly affections, we become central in her spiritual affections. And if we give her our best, she gives back her "best Godly blessings" to us. Praise God!
ReplyDeleteTonight as I viewed an email sent to me that pictured Jesus in human form at various stages of his life on earth, I stared at the picture of him and thought how strange it was to see God in human form. If I were there, could I really believe this 'man' was God?
ReplyDeleteHow did the disciples get to the point of faith, where they believed Jesus was who he said he was?
One by one they each reached their faith by abiding in Him. Abiding: living, every moment with Him, existing and depending on Him, learning about Him, trusting Him, loving Him.
It was the abiding in Christ that glued their relationships with each other.
None of them would have remained together if it had not been for the love of Christ. Their union was solely based on this.
Look at what happened when Christ was declared dead. They split, many disillusioned, confused, scared. Not until they had their Jesus back again was their union 'back again'.
If we are not held together simply by the love of Christ, we are not held together at all, we are merely going through the motions. Whether it be in a building with stained glass or a living room of 2 people.
"Abide in me and I shall abide in you" John 15:4
Lynda - thank you for sharing that insight. An excellent compliment to Pastor's reflection. Your comments are always a blessing to many...
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most about Jesus' teaching about prayer is that He said to use the words "Our Father" which essentially made us His sister and brother and "Your Father" which did the same since He also called God His Father. Being Jesus' sister or brother, especially in a spirital sense, is a big bessing from our graceful Father!
ReplyDelete