We began this new message series last week entitled, “Ethos.” Each individual and organization has unique ethos or culture. We talked last week about our collective ethos as the church being that of an alternative lifestyle which is directed by our willingness to live a Holy life – directed by the Holy Spirit. As a part of that message, we all were asked to pin point one area of life we would like to be more holy and to imagine what our life, our church and our community would be like if we succeeded. We even wrote on a plank before coming to communion at all services as a sacred act of our commitment to build anew. This week we dive a little bit deeper by beginning to review the first of five areas that we have decided are of value to us as a church. These are not five values, we would like to live in our devoted, connected and generous life, but what our actions have proven we value by over the course of our history. Today, I’ll talk about the toughest of them all - relationship. But what do we really mean?
By claiming relationship as a value, we are stating its sacredness in the life of a Christian. We have all heard the study of the primates who were starved of attention and who eventually passed away. As creatures, we are born for relationship and our God has provided a perfect example for how this should look in his completeness. God the Father lives in perfect harmony with God the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three acting in seamless concert with each other to create, redeem and sustain. We, as an outpost for God, must emulate this selfless interconnection. The issue is most, if not all of us, come to a church out of selfish motives. We come because there is a whole in our soul or question on our heart or a huge dissatisfaction in our lives. We are shopping for a church to fix or fill us. In same way we go to the Grind and order our coffee of choice or McDonalds for breakfast, we want it our way and we believe the bigger the church and its programs they must have it figured out. However that’s not always the case.
I was reading an article the other day about one of the most successful multi-site churches in Florida. They had over 10,000 attendees back in 2006 and seemed to be thriving beyond anyone’s expectation but the founder realized that while everything looked fined on the outside with people showing up but Christian relationships were not being formed. In the end, a team of folks figured out those coming were there to consume Christian services but they had not met the risen Lord who calls us to be more than Christian shoppers. They claimed to have learned that Christian community requires being missional (outwardly focused), sharing of resources (generous), serving those in need, lifting of the community over and above the individual and constantly looking to grow the kingdom by creatively answering the needs to others in the hope to sharing the love of Christ.
There is a great biblical teaching that echoes this finding written by Peter – impetuous Peter, jump out of the boat Peter, I’ll never turn away Peter, the Peter who eventually becomes the rock the rock the church is built upon, Peter the one who when martyred asks to be crucified upside down because he is not worthy to die as Christ. Peter speaks to a growing band of Christians like this here in Oswego saying:
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Peter is defining how this new band of Christians should interact with each other. Christian relationships are more than clicking “yes or confirm” on a Facebook friend request. A Christian relationship is more than an acquaintance you sit on the sidelines with as you watch your kid’s event. It’s more than the time you and your neighbor chat as you toss a few back with on the back patio. Peter is detailing actions which create healthy Christian relationships. Healthy Relationships!
First and foremost, by the writing of the letter Peter is calling His church and ours to an accountable and teachable relationship. All elders of church or the leaders of a ministry or even a small group need to have this same understanding. Christian relationships are always accountable, not in a legalistic way but in an iron sharpening iron way. Christian relationships need to be accountable for two reasons:
1) to help guide and grow us into a deeper relationship and
2) To insure our motive is always and only to see Christ glorified.
This really leads us into Peter’s second point about making sure Christian relationship is that it is always connected to God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. By Peter telling the body to pray, He is pointing to them to God and to following God’s will in their life and the lives they are connected to. He is doing so because healthy relationships require us to see them through Christ’s eyes and example.
They include boundaries.
Boundaries of when not to enable, not to submit and when to claim our worthiness as creatures created uniquely in God’s image with love. In so doing, all our interactions and relationships are more grace filled, merciful and powerful.
He is also admonishing them to be missional. By that, we know he is calling the body to be outwardly focused. He is calling them to support one another in both word and deed. Why? Words are important. Always remember the spoken world is powerful. God spoke the world into existence. We are made in his image and our words are powerful. Deeds are important too because they are the tangible evidence of what is happening within a person.
It’s a very simple idea but it’s not easy.
A Christian relationship is different from other relationships because they witness to Christ’s love for us and His love for the rest of the world. The interesting point is that when we live in Christian relationship we are constantly surrounded and filled by his Spirit. It builds our faith. It satisfies. It brings me closer to Jesus and in the end; it grows the kingdom making it stronger and more attractive.
Let’s review. We come in to church looking for the whole in our soul to filled, our questions of life answered and/or our dissatisfaction with life reversed. We come in as consumers but the answer is in our service. It’s the divine paradox. It’s in our relationship with God and his example we learn to serve and in so doing he fills the void, answers the questions and satisfies our deepest needs and we experience joy. Joy is not the absence of pain but the satisfaction of knowing we are not alone, forgotten or unloved.
Imagine a living in Holy relationships within this body of believers. Imagine how that could change our community and even our world. Imagine the ripples God could do through us.
