The Christian church is a living organism. It’s always growing and moving. There are different branches growing off the trunk, and different streams flowing out from the primary river, and the fact that there are different expressions of this faith seems to confirm that we are indeed alive.
There are those among us who are sorts of spiritual pioneers: they are always moving towards a new horizon or adventuring into an undiscovered or long-forgotten place somewhere on the map of spirituality. They continue to push into new frontiers and challenge the rest of us to grow, and I’m thankful for them.
As new frontiers are ventured into or rediscovered, the journey into them brings to the surface new expressions of faith and spirituality. There are new revelations to be unpacked, there are new ideas to be considered, and there are different ways of thinking that need to be audited. I’ve found myself in more and more conversations lately with other believers in which we are trying to sort out some of the new expressions and movements within our faith. Some of it is challenging. Some of it is awe-inspiring. Some of it is suspicious. Some of it is confusing. Some of it causes a “light-bulb” moment that wakes up something inside of you. Some of it makes you squint and ask “is that really even in the Bible?”
I’m grateful for pioneers, new movements, new expressions, and new frontiers. I’ve found it helpful and healthy to consider each one of them and “find the gold” in each new perspective. After visiting these spiritual frontiers and engaging in discussions with other believers, I’ve also found it very reorienting to revisit the things that are clear to me, and that have always been clear to me based upon black and white truth written in the Bible: things that Jesus said that aren’t ambiguous or don’t leave much room for interpretation. Things that don’t make you squint to have to see them. And things that bring you back to the core of what makes this message so special. When you remind yourself of what is truth, it empowers you to explore these new frontiers with a heart that is full, a heart that is secure, and a heart that is rooted in truth. With that in mind, it’s not a comprehensive list, but here are some things that are clear to me:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all our soul and with all your mind…and…Love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus calls this statement the first and second greatest commandments. To me, that means it’s one of the most important things…ever. We’ve probably heard it or read it hundreds of times, and the fog of familiarity can dull the potency of what this statement actually encompasses and requires of us. I invite you to stare at that statement regularly and let it sink into your core. I believe that if we actually invited Jesus to speak into what it would look like for you and I to actually live from this mandate, it would be a challenge that would take our entire lifetime to fully understand and live out.
Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Jesus calls this a “new commandment” that He’s giving to us. We’ve been taught and shown that God is love. Now, near the end of his life on earth, Jesus gives this mandate to love “as I have loved you.” I’m glad that He clarified as I have loved you. The world, the culture, even the church at times has wrestled with the task of defining love. I’m glad that He didn’t just say love one another. If He left it at that, it would be open to anyone’s interpretation of love: it could be a tough love version, a free love version, a John Lennon version, a Rob Bell version, a Joel Osteen version, or an Ellen version. It could be a “same love” version or a “one love” version, or any number of countless versions of love that have been attempted to be articulated. Thankfully, He doesn’t leave it open to interpretation. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Remain in me…that they may be one.
In John 15 – 17, Jesus begins to wind down His ministry, and it becomes an intense session in which He pours out His heart to His closest followers. He urges His followers to “Remain in me.” He compares Himself to a vine, and He calls us the branches. This picture of full and complete integration seems to be at the core of what we are promised. It seems to be critically important, as He repeats the phrase “Remain in me” or “Remain in my love” multiple times during the conversation. It’s clear that a simple salvation transaction isn’t enough: full integration is what’s promised, and it’s the truest expression of the life that He wants for us. When you look at a vine and its branches, it’s difficult to determine exactly where the vine ends and the branch begins. I think that’s the point. He wants to be one with us, as He explains later on. He talks about how He and the Father are one. It’s clear that this oneness, this full integration, is central to His life. It’s clear that He wants us to experience that as well, not just with He and the Father, but with each other. According to John 17, the last thing that Jesus does before He’s taken away is pray for His followers who were with Him and those would come after them (us). He could have used those last few moments for any purpose, but He chose to use that moment to pray for us. This is what He prayed: …”that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you…so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me…”
The last thing that Jesus did as a free man was pray that we would be one, just as He and the Father are one. He said that if we live in unity, this will show the world that Jesus is who He said He is. This is central to our message.
And so, some of us will feel more comfortable in spiritual frontiers than others. Some will see a movement or a teaching or an expression as revolutionary while others squint to see its value, or even if they agree with it. The great thing is that Jesus never said that we had to agree on everything. He never promised that our personal lenses or filters of thought would be the same. He just told us to love each other…the way that He loved us. So if you’re a spiritual pioneer pressing into new frontiers…keep loving. If you’re a conservative person who is cautious in your faith…keep loving. He told us to remain in Him so that we could be one. There doesn’t seem to be an issue with different branches as long as they’re all connected to the vine. Unity isn’t a condition of being the same; it’s a commitment to stand together.
for underdogs & kings... 