Bonhoeffer’s quote points out a frightful reality. We are disconnected with what we are called to be. I’m more accustomed to the language of “church attendance” than I am to the truth of being it.
We are God’s active presence in the world. The church is an extension of Him; His very body. Under his headship we are called to be a force for His ends. Even as Jesus did, we must incarnate His Spirit.
This responsibility and opportunity should indeed quicken our spirits. It is and awesome privilege and one we should not take lightly. Let us embrace our identity as ambassadors of the Kingdom and catalyze its emergence in the world.
It is exciting what we are charged with however we must be careful to remember that we are part of a body. While working all by oneself we cannot accomplish anything properly. Only by partnering with our brothers and sisters can we be fully in keeping with God’s will for our lives. Our fellowship is the fertile ground where Gods purposes will take root and flourish. Without binding ourselves closely together in Christ we are destined to “burn out” as we become exhausted trying to accomplish great things out of our own strength.
Each of you has taught me much about what it means to be bound together in Him. Much Love to you all.
-Jonathan
Friday, September 28, 2007
Response to "Church" Entry
Are these two passages related? If so, how? If so, what are the implications?
John 17: 20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Monday, September 24, 2007
Unnoticed Influences
It would be an understatement to say that there are cultural influences affecting my life that I rarely take time to notice. I recognized some of these influences when I recently spoke with a friend of mine living on the west coast. He said he was moving to a new city, taking a new job and perhaps going back to school. His reason for these big changes was essentially a shrug accompanied by a vague desire to have a "change of scenery" and "experience something new". A new city would be "a place to think", the specific job was a matter of convenience, and the possibility of grad school was a goal that provided some hopeful connection with the future. He admitted that the decisions came--not out of a sense of direction--but out of confusion.
The conversation struck me as a clear expression of the situation in which most people my age find themselves, regardless of whether they are Christian or not. It is abundantly clear that my generation is one of utter confusion, what Nouwen calls the "rootless generation". We are deeply concerned with personal independence yet unclear on what to do with it; we insist on the importance of self expression, yet we're unsure of what to say (is updating our facebook categories--favorite music, books, movies, quotes--enough? Those change every week). This confusion is something I can find within myself and everyone around me, sometimes expressed through anxiety but more often in apathy and boredom.
It seems to me that Christian youth in America are not much better off. We rely on Christ for our profession of faith, yet in our concrete life decisions we rely on secular priorities--material accumulation or worldly achievement. Our faith does not bind us together. It does not place us in the midst of the body of Christ in an unfolding eternal kingdom. Rather it acts as a threadbare connection to a distant vague promise. As for the here and now, faith is at most used to spur the individual toward good behavior, a prick in one's personal conscience. Disconnected from an understanding of the body of Christ and all on our own, the self made western Christian tries to tough it out on a long hard slog through life. It is no wonder we can feel our personal faith become limp and ineffective: precisely because we think of it as simply personal and individual without recognizing the big story. As a friend once told me, an ember separated from the fire slowly burns out. Faith without fellowship fades.
