"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." [Ephesians 2:10]
Our true identity before God is summarized by Paul in this verse in chapter 2 of Ephesians. The underlying reality is that at the creation God created man and woman to care for the creation by living in harmony with it and prospering by multiplying. It is this "good" that God desired for humanity and it is this "good" that evil ultimately undermined in the lie of the serpent to the first man and woman.
We were created complete with a strong sense of good with God's desire that we walk in that goodness and so do good works that cultivate the beauty and grandeur of creation. It is for this reason that God, through Christ, has rescued us so that we might recover our true identities.
Evil tore away the true identity of humanity by veiling humanity's understanding of God and relationship to Him. By that veiling, a great distrust entered into the heart and mind of man and woman that caused them to doubt the goodness of God and the good that they were created to do and created for. This veiling plunged the human race into a darkness of spirit and heart that demanded God's intervention. As we saw in chapter one, God planned that evil would not undermine humanity by choosing to create humanity in Christ to be holy and blameless in full relationship with Him.
Regardless of how broken our lives have been, we can be assured that God has never stopped loving us nor stopped desiring that we live out our true identity. Paul makes it clear in the passage from Sunday's message [chapter 2:1-10] that God loved us in our brokenness and alienation. He took our broken humanity and raised it up in Christ [through Christ's death and resurrection] so that we now are transformed in Christ with His Spirit working our transformation in us now with the hope of full transformation and renewal in the end.
Think about how God has changed your life and changed us as His people and think about what good we are capable of with Christ and the Spirit to help us! We have the ability to live out of our true identities and so do good in our world. Paul affirms that God has intended for us to walk in the good works that drive back evil in our world and bring transformation through our being the body of Christ in our world. If we truly grabbed hold of this what could be the possibilities?
Imagine as God's people in North Oakville living as a community that does good works so that evil is driven back and transformation happens in the lives of others? What would North Oakville look like if as God's community we committed ourselves to living like this?
I dare you to dream the dream that God has put in our hearts by His Spirit so that we can live as God's people bringing life to those who are walking dead people!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment