Christian Unity: Vital for Victory

In the last week of class, my professor posed this question: How important do you believe Christian unity is to the life of the Church?

Picture this: 

Turning to look behind you at the rumble of red and blue in the stands, you notice a recruiter from a top university that met you a day prior. Looking forward at the tied scoreboard, this next moment could mean your college education.

The coach gives you the code: Red, forty, trips right. You repeat this to the team, and every man knows what to do next.

You can see the smoke rising from the jerseys of both teams as you set your feet behind the Center. Breath is visible, lights are tangible, sounds are deafening, but you enter into a state of complete focus. Tunnel vision—you can only see your men and the enemy. Limited hearing—the soft grunts of the men lined up before you drown out the roars of the crowds behind. And suddenly, it all begins.

With the ball now in your hand, you look out towards a field of complete chaos. Two of the lineman begging for a pass, one has seemingly fallen asleep, and the others are doing the best they can to hold the line. Anxious, you glance up at the receivers, who look in no better condition, confused on where to go and how to get there.

Suddenly, a barrel of a man slams into your left side and, dropping the ball as you fall, the other team recovers the fumble and travels the complete distance of the field to score the winning touchdown.


How important is Christian unity? Vital for victory.

In Ephesians 4, Paul provides the struggling church at Ephesus some practical steps for walking in unity. He starts by imploring the people to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling which you have been called" (Eph. 4:1). As believers, we serve as ambassadors and representatives of the name of God. The God who lives in a perfect trinity does not have issues with unity. Likewise, Paul beckons the church at Ephesus to walk in "humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love" (4:2). As believers, we must "be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (4:3).

Further down, Paul begins talking about how every individual has a part to play in the success of the church. In the same way that the football team all claimed to know the play but did not carry out their individual parts, a church that claims to know their identity in Christ but does not serve with their individual gifts will not effectively reach the lost or grow in Christ (4:7-13).

There is a wordy sentence in Ephesians 4 that is possibly my favorite part of this passage. After speaking about the individual pieces, Paul explains that every part contributing to the whole in unity is important "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ..." (4:12). In other words, when we all carry our load, the entire group is equipped to reach out and serve and to reach in and grow. Unity of the body is all for the sake of inward and outward growth. We become equipped to serve and grow.

How important is Christian unity? Vital for victory.

May we all be "fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causing the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." -Ephesians 4:16

The Not-So-Silent Night

My family has traditionally read and celebrated the story of Christ's birth from chapter two of Luke every Christmas. Likewise, the manger scene, with two or three shepherds, three wise men/kings, Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, a few animals, and an angel or two, has become a hallmark Christmas item. However, this story only skims the surface of the realities taking place in the spiritual realm on that night. John Eldredge, author of New York Times bestseller, Wild at Heart, comments that "spiritually speaking, this is no silent night. It is a D-Day" (156).

Chapter twelve of the book of Revelation shines light on how the true scene surrounding Christ's birth panned out. The chapter begins with a great sign appearing in heaven of a pregnant woman crying out with labor pains. Closely following this description, another great sign appears of a red dragon who "stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour the child" (Rev. 12:1-4).

Doesn't sound like the traditional "Silent Night" "Away in the Manger," huh? The story normally heard, although it is in no way wrong, can be deceiving without the truth of the war in the spiritual realm. Matthew leaves undertones of the story in Revelation when he writes of king Herod seeking to kill baby Jesus (Matt. 2:7-14). This parallels the dragon waiting to devour the child. God, foreseeing this, simply re-routed Mary and Joseph into Egypt, and Revelation explains, after the baby is born, "Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God..." (Rev. 12:5-6). Simply put, while Jesus entered the world on what many know as a "Silent Night," a war raged in the heavens.

"And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon" (Rev. 12:7). Now, some may doubt the interpretation of Revelation relating to the Christmas story because Revelation speaks of the things to come. However, the book of Revelation is more properly entitled "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," as John himself, the writer, records in the very first sentence of Revelation. Therefore, it would make sense to speak of His birth. Also, prophecy commonly has a multi-faceted meaning. God, existing out of time, does not have the barriers that we often place on Him. In other words, if He addressed something to a prophet 4000 years ago, it is relevant to today because He is just as much present in this moment as he is in the next and in the last. Likewise, Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples "beginning with Moses and with all the prophets...concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27), demonstrating the the entirety of the word is exactly that, the Word, or Jesus Christ. Therefore, as much as a war will rage in the heavens, it already has raged. And the prophecy serves many ends.

Chief among them, for the sake of this blog, is the shattering of our "Silent Night" image. "Why," you might ask, "must the 'Silent Night' shatter?" And, simply put, it must shatter because we remain blind to the spiritual realm as long as we choose to remain blind to it. Perhaps the deadliest part of the Christmas story from Revelation comes in verse seventeen when John writes, "So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." But the life, the Light of the world, comes from verse eleven: "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."

The truth is, the world we see right before us only represents a mere glimpse at reality. Nothing transcends the reality of the realm that God dwells in. But, for our sake, Jesus took on our humanity so that we could live with Him in the newness of life--not just the life to come, but life more abundantly in this present age. And when He came, you better believe the enemy was not thrilled. But what a wake-up call to us on Christmas!

I mean, the enemy makes a swipe at the Messiah, the Son of God, while He's an infant! Of course the enemy did not prevail, but it causes me to want to cling to Christ even more. John writes, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (or overpower it)" (John 1:4-5). Of myself, I am dead and the darkness overpowers me. But, with Christ, the Life and Light of men, I am alive, and the darkness has no hold on me!

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" -Psalm 23:4

Silent Night! Holy Night!

We are currently in the season of Advent, or a celebration of the coming of Christ. I say this because last year I honestly did not even know this existed. When I think about it, however, I'm glad this is new.

This past week, I attended the funeral of Sgt. Teddy Ratcliff. I also went to quite possibly the best Christmas drama I have ever attended. Hold on, hold on...I'm getting to how all of this connects.

I'm critical (a little fact for those who aren't nodding or laughing right now). And, believe it or not, I have always been perturbed by "Silent Night" and the infant Jesus picture so heavily pushed at Christmas. Before I'm labeled a heretic, let me explain. Christ is not a baby in a manger anymore. On top of that, the night of His birth was not such a "silent night" after all (I will be posting on this later). I enjoy the picture and the story, but, to be honest, Him being a baby never quite hit home with me until this year. I love the picture of Emmanuel, God with us. And how He chose to lower Himself to come as a Saving Servant. But Him as a baby...I didn't get it.

But as I sat and listened to Cheryl Ratcliff, Sgt. Ratcliff's widowed wife, speak of her love story with her husband, I began to think. She said, "I can honestly say, he never raised his voice at me. Not once." She also shared about him making her lunch everyday and often leaving little love notes: "I've kept every one of them," she said through tears. I did not know you up close, save when I was too young to remember, but Sgt. Teddy Ratcliff, you make me want to be a better man. Not only that, but you helped me to remember Father God's love for me. Through all of my failures and shortcomings, God has never grown impatient with me, nor has He ever raised His voice. He has fed me daily, (even if it be through manna), and I can never lose, give up, or trade a single one of His love letters for anything. Even if I do, He will always keep every single one of mine to Him.

The day following the funeral, I went to a Christmas drama at a local church. The story centered itself around the relationship of a father and a son. Although the relationship was at odds, by the end of the drama, the father and son realized that both of them cared for each other. I know this sounds cliche and cheesy, but I promise you, I teared up more than five times during the production. I kept thinking about my own relationship with my earthly father. All of the fights, the regrets, the missed and failed opportunities, and the possibility that either one of us, like Sgt. Ratcliff, could leave this world at any moment. My lovely finance remarked, "I want to practice looking my parents in the face. Show them I love them. I don't want our last memory together to be a fight."

Dad, if you're reading this, I love you. That's all I've really got to say. I can't mend, neither can you, but that's what I learned about baby Jesus this Advent.

The Father, the Creator of the Universe, spoke and everything was. The One who controls it all, the LORD of Hosts, breathed out life and inhaled our earthly oxygen. My Jesus, You were so fragile! But in that little boy sat all of the secrets of the universe, all of the power, the honor, and the wisdom. Coming to reconcile. O beautiful night! O holy night! The manger gives the world the picture of the Father's love for us. Although Israel, God's chosen people, had betrayed Him, spat in His face, and played the harlot with other gods, God said, "I will reconcile." Although I, one of the many He died for to give life, have betrayed Him, spat in His face, and played the harlot with other gods, God says, "I will reconcile."

Through a baby...one who needs tender love and care. And He cradled Jesus. He protected Him. And the boy grew to be the perfect Man. Maybe Joseph, Jesus' earthly father, did things wrong. Maybe he hurt Jesus' feelings or spoke wrongfully to Him. We know from the Word that the village despised Him. They saw Him as the son of adultery, not the son of God. Even His friends denied Him in the end. But He loved. He showed mercy. He forgave. And He reconciled.

So maybe He's not a baby in a manger anymore...So what? He has certainly taught me about redeeming love. Don't get me wrong, I like "Stille Nacht" (the German "Silent Night") better because it sounds rougher; but He came as a baby, showed love to the despising and messed-up world, and continually teaches me to find the Silent Night of His presence in the midst of the midnight storm. All for the sake of reconciling the world.

"Silent night! Holy night! Son of God, love's pure light, radiant beams from Thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace--Jesus, Lord at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord at Thy birth."

My Burden Gladly Bearing

I have something to say, but I can't get it out. The fire comes and goes, always locked up in my bones. But I can't get it out. Yesterday, I spent upwards of an hour digging through old notes, and I believe I stumbled upon the answer: I have left my first love. I never left ministry and service...just Love.

I don't get it. No matter how faithless I am, God remains faithful. You see, I equate faith with obedience. James nailed it on the head when he wrote, "Faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:17). And, frankly, I have lacked in obedience and coasted on the visions of yesterday.

I haven't fallen from the faith or committed some murderous sin, (well, maybe a little hate), but I have left my first love. Ask me what my deepest desire is. I will answer, "To know God." Ask me about my career goals (monetarily), and I will reply, "I don't want riches nor man's empty praise, God's mine inheritance, now and always." Ask me even about my deepest fears. I would, no doubt, reply, "Not walking in God's will." But, the more I muse over my pain, the more I find I have missed the mark of all of these dreams.

As much as I want to be a man after God's heart, my heart does not look like His. I don't love. I don't seek. I am not righteous. At one point, I thought Romans 3:10-18 was ridiculous. Of course I do good! Of course I seek for God! Of course I understand!...No. Not one.

Not one person hits the mark. Every single one of us falls short...

"Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25a). But Christ makes a way. He gives us His life in exchange for our wretched, poor, blind, and naked life. He puts a ring upon our finger and a robe upon our back. "You are My son, My daughter, don't forget!" He says. Even though Jesus took on the flesh of man and still lived out a perfect life, He does not look down on us and say, "Suck it up!" Instead, we have a tender, loving God who looks on us with lovingkindness and supplies strength for our weakness and grace for our lack. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

There's a fire locked up in my bones. And I will stir up the flame, that gift given to me by the Holy Spirit. I will pray, "Set a fire down in my bones that I can't contain that I can't control. I want more of You, God! I want more of You!"

For this I repent: I have not loved You, Father, with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of my mind, and with all of my strength. I have sought to do your work, sought obedience, but I have grown weary in doing good because I did not trust in Your strength. I am not worthy to write these blogs like I feel You want me to. I am not righteous or holy. But I praise You for making a way. I praise You for covering me completely in Christ and filling me continually with the Holy Spirit. You have made a way for me to be holy and righteous. Work in me love, my Love.

"And when I think that God, His son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art!"