WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD
Together We Get It Right . . . Get It Done . . . Get Ready to Go Marching In!
When my best friend Fred Moore, chaplain of MCG, lay at death’s door, we reminisced about times together when we shared classes at NOBTS, and when, for fifteen years, our families spent time together as neighbors and as members of FBC of Augusta where I served as a minister and he as a deacon. During those years of friendship, he and I often engaged in discussions of theological issues. Never shall I forget our last words: “Well, Charles, pretty soon I’ll find out if I got it right.” Whereupon I replied, “I suspect you did.”
For most of us who seek to “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk” of the Christian Faith, our aim is not only to get it right, but get it done, and, in the process, get ready to “go marching in” when our walk with the Lord in “the here and now” culminates in the greatest blessing of all in the hereafter (as conveyed by the psalmist) – “and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.”
When the Apostle Paul sat at death’s door in a Roman prison, his last wish was: that the Church of Jesus Christ might get it right - doctrinally and practically.
Thus, in his letter to believers living in the pagan city of Ephesus, Paul’s theme was unity. Together, they were to get it right, get it done, and get ready for the time when God will (as he put it) “bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (1:10).
In so many words, Paul challenged Christ-ians to get their act together: In the first part of the letter (chapters 1-3) what I hear him saying is:
“Whatever differences there may be in the “when, where and how” of your “walk with the Lord”, there has to be unity when it comes to the basics – the “who, what and why”. After all, “God’s purpose was to make the two (Jew and Gentile) ONE, thus making PEACE” (2:14-15). Paul’s thesis is stated simply: All true believers are “one in Christ”! Oneness makes for Peace!
“Consequently, you are members of God’s household, built on a solid foundation, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit . . . His intent was that through you the Church this good news should be made known . . . and I pray that you, rooted in love, may get it right – that is to say: grasp the extent of Christ’s love, be filled with it, and live it out.” (2:19-22) So, Paul tells us what it takes for unity to occur – Ephesians 4:1-6 . . .
Unity occurs when believers get it right as to calling (v. 1) – God in Christ extended all of us an invitation to come out of sin into salvation . . . urged all of us to follow Christ in paths of righteousness . . . summoned each and every one of us to take up the Christian Cause as our new vocation.
Unity occurs when believers get it right as to attitude (v. 2). A most difficult challenge in life is to maintain an appropriate opinion of ourselves.
We tend to dramatize our lives,, seeing ourselves as the center of some dramatic moment, when what we need to do is set our lives alongside the life of Christ and realize that we need all the help we can get. That’s humility.
Furthermore, it seems to me that a truly humble person has little desire to control others but rather is eager for each person to be aware of his or her value to the body as a whole, with everyone working together with God for the good of all. This type of person always seems to get angry at the right time for the right reason, but never gets angry at the wrong time. That’s gentleness.
Yet, one of the hardest things for even a Christian gentleman or lady to learn is patience so as not to get under each other’s skin. Surely a little bit of irritation has got to be ok, simply because there’s so much of it. A simple technique I learned a long time ago was to remind myself that if God had been human, He would have long ago, in sheer irritation, wiped us all off the face of the earth. But God’s patience waits for us to get it right.
How is it that we are able to put up with each other? Christian love - new concept to the culture of the first century so that New Testament writers had to invent a word - agape - to express the concept of “unconquerable benevolence” – if we regard a person with agape, it means that nothing a person whom we love can, or will ever do, will make us seek anything other than that person’s highest good!
When all parties to a discussion or a decision-making process, regardless of situation, or denomination, get their attitudes right by humbly, gently, patiently and lovingly seeking each other’s highest good, there will most certainly be unity - the end result of which is peace (v. 3).
Whenever the Church gets it right as to calling and attitude, the Church gets it done as to Christ’s commission - others come to know Him whom to know is life eternal and enjoy the peace that only Jesus can give. The Church united becomes God’s instrument for bringing peace to the whole world.
If the Christian Church is to be the united, we have to get it right regarding the basis for unity (verses 4-6) . . . Unity is not uniformity . . . Nor is it conformity to a method . . . Unity means that “together” we pursue a common objective . . . we do so in a spirit of oneness. Unity means we get it done, not in the same way, but like an orchestra made up of instruments that are not alike but that come together to blend with others, resulting in harmony which contributes to contentment, serenity and a sense of well-being – on the part of participants and recipients alike. Christian unity is essential for world peace!
Seven pillars of Christian Unity are laid down by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. You might even call them the Seven Oneders of Christianity!
Sitting in a prison in Rome, facing death, consumed by a burning desire to make his last words count for the sake of the Cause for which he was about to become a martyr, reflecting on the places where he had preached and established churches, his mind carried him to Ephesus, commercial and religious center of the world at that point in history.
As Paul pondered what to write, he remembered the Temple of Diana – one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - used it to impress on the minds of those who would carry on after he was gone the sacredness of the basics around which the Church of Jesus Christ could rally, and unite, in efforts to keep the mission of the church alive and well. So, Paul focused on seven pillars of the Christian Faith - which together constitute that “holy temple in the Lord”:
One Body – the Church – consisting of true believers who have placed their faith in Christ and whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
One Spirit – the Holy Spirit – third person of the Trinity whose assignment is to guide believers into all truth and testify that we are children of God.
One Hope – a world redeemed in Christ – God’s great goal shared by all who name the name of Christ. Whereas methods, denominations, patterns of worship may be different, we should all be striving toward the same goal.
One Lord – Jesus Christ – God’s Son, and the Savior of all who believe in Him and commit their way to Him. “Jesus Christ is Lord” was the only “creed” used by the early Church. Christians worldwide must be united in submission to Christ as one and only Lord of our lives.
One faith – complete trust in, and surrender to, the one and only Lord whose words and actions we seek to live by. He is truth, He taught truth, He lived truth as God revealed it in and through the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us. True faith is trust in, and obedience to, the one and only Savior Jesus Christ!
One baptism – a symbolic act of obedience which was and is meant to be an official public confession of one’s faith in Christ and therefore one’s entry into the Unified Church of Jesus Christ.
One God and Father – a phrase that should inscribe on our minds, in our hearts, the love of God. The unique thing about the LORD God is not that He is King, not that He is Judge, but that He is Father. “Our Father”! “My children!”
Folks, in every situation and circumstance of life, there is God – at work in and through it all to bring about that which is best for His very own! Therefore, why shouldn’t we walk worthy of children on our way to the heavenly home to which God has called us? Amen.
