October 11
Day 211: Always a Good Opportunity
It's no secret we're a divided people. It takes no time at all to add to the list of already pronounced points of disagreement, opposition, and even battlegrounds. Responses to Covid mitigation, the present election cycle, churches gathering or not gathering. It's not hard at all. Even within the Church.
Seems it always been that way. Distinctives can easily slip into divisions.
Acts 15 tells us of how things had come to a head in their day. Some Jewish Christians, upon hearing of the salvation of Gentiles, demanded that these now Gentile believers be circumcised and mirror the Jewish law and lifestyle.
These Jewish believers likely struggled with the notion of Gentiles ever coming into the "people of God." They were at best foreigners, and at worse threats to purity. They were too different for the Jews to validate and accept. It went against everything they knew to be right and true.
So there was a council, in Jerusalem, to decide how to proceed. Peter spoke, so did Paul and Barnabas. They provided evidential proof. The Gentiles had believed, and received the Holy Spirit...just like everyone in the council room. Even a look back to the OT prophets made the case for the Gentiles.
But differences are still differences. The apostles and elders in Jerusalem asked the Gentiles, not to pretend to be Jews, but to not do only those things that would otherwise result in greatest offense to the Jews.
In Holy Spirit-directed wisdom, they understood. In spite of their own upbringing, and the opposition demanding Gentile compliance to Jewish norms, they instead wrote a letter welcoming these Gentiles who would remain so different from themselves.
In Ephesians 2, Paul is still fighting against the tide of Jewish Christians demanding complete compliance from their Gentile brothers and sisters. As it was, even still there were Jews who could not comprehend a Christian not living exactly like a Jew.
So Paul says, the "two have been made into one man." Meaning, the Gentile believers now shared in all the results and benefits of the gospel. But they would remain different. Accepted, but different.
When a man and woman marry, they do become "one flesh." At the same time, they do not cease to be man and woman respectively. We are not color blind. Different ethnicities can be brought together at the foot of the cross, while celebrating diversity, not pretending it does not exist. God created differences. All equal. All valued.
By God's grace, the Jerusalem apostles and elders understood this, relating it to Jews and Gentiles, now both share holders in God's economy.
Unity in our churches may be the real battleground in 2020. We may be more divided than we can even want to see. I sense the world is watching; watching to see if we are any different than our deeply polarized society.
Our unity will require we each learn what hills to die on; what are the absolutes vs. preferences. How we will not just endure, but actually celebrate our diversity.
Can we today live like we believe Acts 15? And Ephesians 2? Can we celebrate our common faith, even our differences, shared in unity together? This, or any Sunday morning is always a good opportunity.
-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau