We are members of a Miracle Church, my friends.
We are part of a Church composed of Liberals and
Conservatives; of Capitalists and Socialists; of Anarchists and
Communists.
We are a Church where all of those labels fade into nonsense and we count everything as garbage compared to the surpassing greatness of His excellence. [Phil.3]
We are part of a Church made of a mosaic from thousands of
denominations who disagree on more than they agree on.
But what we agree on is what makes us one. "For we are
all one in Christ Jesus" [Gal. 3:28]
When we all turn, together, and behold the face of our
glorious Savior, our differences fade; our disagreements are muted, and we all
gasp in wonder at His beauty, and His power – and then His grace, and His
endless, boundless love washes over us and dissolves all of our
disagreements.
In Him we become One Body. He takes His rightful place as
King and Lord of us all. We profess our love for one another, even with those
we most violently disagree. We sell our property to provide food and clothing
for brothers and sisters whose names we didn't even know a few days - or even
hours - before. We lay down our need to be right and we embrace one another as
we surround the Throne of Grace together.
This is the Church. We are all a part of it.
When Jesus is the center, we can all share in the beautiful
wonder and awe of His presence.
If anything else is the center, we break apart; we turn our
face from Him, and we find fault with one another.
But when we look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, we realize that there is nothing to gain by chasing such distractions as
these.
When we begin to count His blessings, and to ponder His
goodness, and to meditate on His surpassing greatness, we slowly discover that
there is truly no end to His unsearchable riches.
If we begin today, we can never exhaust our exploration of
His magnificent grace and endless love.
We find ourselves reflecting on Jesus and our hearts begin
to race as our hearts are filled with the knowledge that Jesus is:
“....the radiance of the glory of God and the exact
imprint of his nature, [who] upholds the universe by the word of his power.” [Hebrews
1:3]
“He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he
is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he
is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all
the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making
peace by the blood of his cross.” [Colossians 1:15-20]
“‘For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you
have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”
[Colossians 2:9-10]
This is the Church of Jesus. This is the only Church there
is, or will ever be. This is a Church where Jesus is at the center and people
with a myriad of doctrines and distinctives swirl around His throne singing,
"Worthy, worthy is the Lamb of God; who was and is and is to come! Praise
His Holy Name! Alleluiah!"
I am grateful to fellowship with each of you, regardless of
our differences. I choose to see Jesus in you, and to set aside the doctrines
that divide us.
We are all one in Christ Jesus. As long as Jesus is at our
center, we will remain in unity and we will share in His excellent greatness
and partake of His grace, love and mercy together.
May you know His presence and His love for you today.
Blessings,
Keith
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to
him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever. Amen.” [Ephesians 3:14-21]
