Hope Alliance Bethlehem

Psalm 95 reminds us that the LORD is God.  He is the God far above any would be gods and he is our God who shepherds us through this life.  Our only response, no matter the current circumstances of life, is worship.  Worship is both an emotional and a volitional response to the realization that God is both the God and our God.

Paul tells the church at Ephesus to walk in the way of love.  What does this mean and how can we do it?  Perhaps the best answer comes from another letter of Paul to the church at Corinth.  In his famous poem on love, Paul shows us the volitional and active nature of love that we have experience from God and that we are called to exhibit in our lives.  

Central to loving another person is listening to them.  When we genuinely listen to each other, we affirm our shared humanity.  In an age of shouting over each other and the polarization that brings, Christians ought to lead the way in loving by listening.  We listen to understand.  And we listen to prepare ourselves to speak well if prompted.  In so doing, we follow the example of Jesus.  

Love engages other people, no matter their ideology or worldview.  It means getting proximate and embracing a posture of hospitality that humanizes everyone.  Jesus shows us exactly what this looks like and the societal impact it can have in his relationship with Zacchaeus.  May we go and do likewise!

As Christians we are people who have been radically changed by love.  God's love, ultimately displayed in the gospel, is transforming us.  We cannot manufacture love on our own.  Instead, we love others because we know God and have an ever deepening understanding of the gospel.  And when we step out in love toward others, we join in God's transforming work of our own hearts, helping to bring it to completion.

How should Christians engage in politics, especially in this season of utter divisiveness?  For us at Hope, it means the church is necessarily apolitical, while individual believers engage as best as they can following their consciences.  But as a church and as individuals, we are governed by our mission to make disciples, our message - the gospel, our call to love God and others, and Jesus deep desire for unity in the church.   Our allegiance belongs to Jesus, not a political party.

Humanity tends to react to our polarized world by building towers.  Whether by fear or pride, we build towers around what we believe to be true and right in order to separate ourselves from the world.  Towers have never been God's design.  Instead, following Jesus and his calling on our lives, believers are called to be temples - bringing God close to humanity in loving pursuit.

If we are going to put on the new clothes of God's family, we have to embrace our true identity.  In order to help us do that, Paul offers some important rhythms to include in our personal and corporate lives as the people of God.  These rhythms foster a new creation culture for the family of God in Jesus.

As part of God's new family in Jesus, we have been given a new identity.  On the basis of this identity, we are called to live a different way.  Paul uses the analogy of putting on new clothes - compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  This is the ethos of our new family.  And we've been given the vocation of revealing God's character to creation by living this way.

Jesus is clear with his followers: if they want to be his disciples then they need to give him their highest love and loyalty.  This always means reordering priorities as well as leaving behind our past ways of doing things.  To fully embrace the new family of God in Jesus means to necessarily leave behind our family of origin.