A little something I wrote...

Here's something I wrote for my Discipleship class. It's a little long, but I think it might be worth your while. It was a "Lectio Divina" assignment and was probably one of the best assignments I've had yet this year! Here it is:

I started this meditative reading of Ephesians 2 by getting myself comfortable, clearing my mind and spending some time in prayer asking God to speak to me through the Text. I began reading, but soon found myself analyzing the Text and trying to figure out what it was saying. I was forced to stop myself and spend some more time in prayer. I needed to stop trying to think with my head so much and start listening with my heart. That is exactly what I prayed for and I was able to better listen to God after that.

I continued reading after spending some time in prayer and then re-read over Ephesians 2 multiple times, sometimes stopping to meditate or concentrate on segments of the passage. One of the first things that caught my attention was the fact that “gratifying sinful nature” is listed alongside “following the thoughts and desires” of that sinful nature. As I meditated on this, I realized that I need to be more careful with my “thoughts and desires.” Does “following [sinful] desires and thoughts” (Eph. 2:3) mean taking action on those thoughts? I don’t think so. I think that we can begin to “follow” our thoughts just by dwelling on them in our minds. I realized that I need to guard my mind and guard my heart better than I have been.

I also was really struck by verses 8 and 9. I feel they serve as a sort of “double reminder” for me.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8)

When I contemplate this verse, it brings me comfort. Sometimes I base my Salvation on “how good” I’m doing in my life. Often I’m not doing too well (I’m a sinner and very imperfect). If my Salvation was “from myself,” I’d be in a lot of trouble most of the time. But there’s great news: “it is the gift of God”! It’s not based on my actions! While in one sense I feel that this verse is reminding me that I can’t earn my Salvation based on what I do, there is some even better news wrapped up in that; I can’t lose my Salvation by what I do. What good news!

There’s another good reminder in verse 9 though!

“Not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:9)

When I am not feeling “humbled” by my sin, I can sometimes be pretty proud. I would say too proud might be a better way to say it. I can definitely have moments when I “boast”… not necessarily to God or to others, but to myself. I can convince myself that it is by my own power that I am defeating sin and in a way that I am “earning my way” by being good. It’s in those moments that I need this reminder. It’s not what I do that saves me, it’s what God does in me that saves me. Verse 10 provides a good follow up to the previous two verses.

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)

It’s not that we should ignore works completely, because we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” I can sometimes forget about the work that I was created to do by taking verse 9 too far. I think to myself, “Hey, it’s not by works that I’m saved! Why should I be caught up in works? I shouldn’t! So I’m not going to worry about that.” While some of that is good, verse 10 reminds me that there is a certain level of works that are good and that I was created to do.

Verses 11-13 seemed at first to have very little application to my life, but then I realized that they were very applicable! I’m a Gentile! Without Christ I would be “excluded from citizenship in Israel and [a foreigner] to the covenants of the promise.” (Eph. 2:12) I am by no means Jewish, so without Jesus there would be no way to Salvation for me! I wouldn’t be circumcised in the flesh, but more importantly I wouldn’t be circumcised in my heart. There is no way I could be part of the family of God apart from Jesus.

Verses 14-18 continue to expand on this idea. Through Christ, Jew and Gentile are brought together. We who were once separate are now made one; one in Christ’s body! What great news that is! But does it have any application to my life? I believe so! What does this look like for the different denominations and branches of Christianity? I believe it should put things in a different light. Christ came to reconcile Jews and Gentiles and to “put to death their hostility.” (Eph. 2:16) If Christ came to do that for Jews and Gentiles who were historically (and religiously) separate, how much more should that encourage us as Christians (who are, for the most part, historically and religiously ultimately from one background)! Why do we bicker over the small things when we should instead be united by Christ and His sacrifice?

In my own life I want to strive for unity with fellow believers. I want to be careful in my discussions to not be holding onto the small unimportant difference. Instead I want to focus on the point of unity, Jesus Christ. I also want to be sensitive to those who aren’t currently following Christ. I want to try and not view them as “non-Christians” and instead view them as future brothers and sisters in Christ. I can bet that the Jews had no idea that they would be joined together with the Gentiles in Christ. I wonder if they might have treated each other differently if they were able to see that future unification.

Ephesians 2 ends on an exciting not for me. I’m no longer a foreigner or alien to the family of God! I’m a part of the Church! That should have been impossible (me being a Gentile and outside of the covenant), but Jesus came and saved me! Yet again I say, what good news! This passage has breathed new life into me so to speak. It has given me a new love and appreciation for what Jesus did for me and has helped me to better see the importance of that sacrifice! Without Him, I’d be lost!

“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Eph. 2:22)

God dwells by his spirit in the Church, and I am a part of the Church! I am a part of something much bigger… but I am an important individual in that community. Community. That’s something I don’t often think much about. I frequently focus on my “individual” faith, but faith was meant for community. It seems so clear to me in this passage! God isn’t dwelling in individuals but in the community of the Church. I need to keep that in mind, because it’s something I often forget and don’t give much importance to.

When I think about it, it seems that fairly consistently throughout the Bible God can be seen working in community. Rarely does God appear to be working solely in the life of the individual. You could argue that God works individually in Abraham’s life, but I would say that is for the purpose of beginning the redemption of mankind… the most fully encompassing community of them all! What I’ve pulled from this is that I want to try and be more intentional about living my faith out in community. In fact, I need to be more intentional about community. I believe that my spiritual growth has been partially stunted by not living in community as fully as I could. If God works best in community, then that’s where I want to be!

I also need to keep in mind though, that being a part of community doesn’t mean completely forgetting about myself. I need to be putting others first, but I also need to realize that I am an integral part of the community that God is working in. I believe that this should encourage a healthy sense of responsibility on my part; a responsibility not only to God, but also to the community and to myself. With this in mind, my actions have a much broader impact than I’ve believed up to this point. My sins (and also my successes) impact not only me, but also the faith community I’m living in! My spiritual health is important to the community, because it is a part of the community. When I view it that way, “my” spiritual life isn’t really mine at all! It is something that I have a part in, but it is also something that is owned by the faith community that I live and dialogue in. Along that same line, the spiritual lives of others in that community aren’t only their own; they are also partly mine. As such, I should take a more personal interest in the spiritual growth of others in my faith community and how their spiritual life impacts that of myself and the community.

This passage from Ephesians has really spoken to me. To be honest, God said much more to me through it than I originally expected. I tried to enter with an open mind, but I wasn’t sure how much God could speak to me through the passage I selected, and I was especially skeptical as to how it could relate to my life. I guess that God spoke to me through those doubts as well, though. I learned about the power of God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit through this time of meditation. He has shown me that He can work through my doubts and more importantly with my doubts to teach me and form me spiritually. I hope that throughout this summer I will be able listen more carefully to the Holy Spirit in my daily life. I also hope that trying to live out my faith in community will help me in listening to the Holy Spirit and seeing God’s work in my life.

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School...

I'm getting back into the swing of school and it's a little crazy to say the least. I'll blog when I can. That's about all I have to say for now.