“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV)
I know I just created a huge taboo. I started a blog post with Scripture. I’m told that if you’re trying to attract readers to a blog, the last thing you should do is start out by quoting scripture, especially, if you’re trying to reach a de-churched population. There is this “rule” that says if you quote scripture you’ll attract people who think like you do – you’ll attract a similar audience and in essence make so real serious addition to society.
Well, I’m going to continue a reality that will not surprise most – I don’t follow silly rules well. Growing up, I was considered a rebel. Not because I smoked, or was a punk or did drugs, but because my sunday school teachers and bible professors all thought I was being argumentative with them when I didn’t follow their theological dogma. One of my teachers in the 9th grade actually asked me to no longer participate in a discussion over Calvinism (it still makes me laugh).So, I’m starting this post with a passage from Galatians, a very
misunderstood letter of Paul. Because I know that this will limit those who will choose to read this, let me say, I’m okay with that because this post is for you. I’m writing this morning to the church – the bride of Christ – the community of faith that I have dedicated my life to serving and loving. In earlier posts, I’ve stated that after I met and fell in love with the Savior, I quickly was given a deep passion for the Church. I love the ekklesia, the greek word for what the early followers called their living into the Way of Jesus.
So, Christian, let me share with you a concern I have. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of the 46 day journey we call Lent. I didn’t grow up in a community that expressed an interest in this season of the church. It’s still a bit of a new experience for me, and yet, I’m really thankful for this stream of Christianity. The whole purpose of Lent is to intentionally reflect on our lives, to explore our humanity – the frailness, the brokenness, the sin, the rebellion, the places where we are walking death. We explore this and we repent and we are brought into deeper connection with the God of heaven and earth. Lent is an equalizer of sorts – it causes us to pause and realize that it’s not about us, but about HIM.
Grace & Peace
Jim Nichols