Color-Man, 21 June, the Adriatic Sea
"But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace...abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man...and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross." Paul wrote these words to the church at Ephesus as a call to unity in Christ. I needed that call this morning.
Earlier in the chapter Paul says that we were "dead in our trespasses and sins...following the course of this world." Sin is in the air that we breathe. If we examine ourselves, we see that our thoughts are hostile towards God, and in a sense we willfully separate ouselves from Him every day.
That is the very definition of Hell. Yet we thrust it upon ourselves by clinging to what we know is wrong. My sins abound--pride (from which the rest spring), lust, anger, perfectionism. If you truly got to know me, you wouldn't like what you'd see. I know, though, that I'm not alone. On a train two days ago we spoke with an American guy who was trying to get back to the church, but couldn't understand "what it means to truly follow Jesus." To him, the church is full of hypocrites who condemn others and justify themselves. Will they enter heaven? What about drunks like himself who don't have it all figured out?
My friends at home struggle through addictions and fears, battling every day. This is the state of our world. But Jesus stands in the gap, reconciling us sinners with God and with each other.
It is fun to adventure far from home. But what is an even greater thought to me is that even now, as I sit at the prow of a ship sailing to Greece, I have a family at home. More than that, I have the family of God at home, and we are one. I could be running right now, running from house and home, trying to separate sin by the seas. I could fear that my family would break with me because I have not kept "the law of commandments and ordinances." I could be utterly estranged.
But I'm not. I was sent out from my doorstep with blessing. Here even, on the Adriatic Sea, I have been "brought near by the blood of Christ." We are all brought near by that one man, no longer strangers and aliens, but "members of the household of God."
Drew
Earlier in the chapter Paul says that we were "dead in our trespasses and sins...following the course of this world." Sin is in the air that we breathe. If we examine ourselves, we see that our thoughts are hostile towards God, and in a sense we willfully separate ouselves from Him every day.
That is the very definition of Hell. Yet we thrust it upon ourselves by clinging to what we know is wrong. My sins abound--pride (from which the rest spring), lust, anger, perfectionism. If you truly got to know me, you wouldn't like what you'd see. I know, though, that I'm not alone. On a train two days ago we spoke with an American guy who was trying to get back to the church, but couldn't understand "what it means to truly follow Jesus." To him, the church is full of hypocrites who condemn others and justify themselves. Will they enter heaven? What about drunks like himself who don't have it all figured out?
My friends at home struggle through addictions and fears, battling every day. This is the state of our world. But Jesus stands in the gap, reconciling us sinners with God and with each other.
It is fun to adventure far from home. But what is an even greater thought to me is that even now, as I sit at the prow of a ship sailing to Greece, I have a family at home. More than that, I have the family of God at home, and we are one. I could be running right now, running from house and home, trying to separate sin by the seas. I could fear that my family would break with me because I have not kept "the law of commandments and ordinances." I could be utterly estranged.
But I'm not. I was sent out from my doorstep with blessing. Here even, on the Adriatic Sea, I have been "brought near by the blood of Christ." We are all brought near by that one man, no longer strangers and aliens, but "members of the household of God."
Drew
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