We have been studying the letter of Paul to the church at Ephesus on Wednesday nights. Last week we learned that the grace of God is to be demonstrated in the church by the unifying and reconciling work of the Holy Spirit within the Body of Christ. The church is like a laboratory in which God’s amazing grace is developed and made known in the world. Think about the laboratories at Pfizer Pharmaceutical, Johnson and Johnson, and Moderna Therapeutics in which the COVID 19 vaccines were created, tested and made available to America’s population. These companies were the proving ground in which now over 50% of our nation’s adult population has been vaccinated. The pandemic is on the decline now as a result.
The apostle Paul said, “…the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.” (Ephesians 3:6-7)
The grace of God is proven and made available to both Jews and Gentiles which brings unity and oneness between fellow believers of all races, languages, and nationalities. Thus, the grace of God is proven within the church body by the harmony between fellow believers. Our church is a laboratory, a proving ground of grace in which all people may worship, serve and fellowship together in the name of Christ Jesus.
What if we could make God’s grace into a vaccine and inject it into the arms of every person in our nation?
What if this grace vaccine began to lessen the impact of hate, prejudice, racism and violence throughout our land?
Remember what the prophet Isaiah said, “…And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:4)
Why do we have to wait until we all get to heaven to find peace and harmony between the nations when we have the grace of God within our church sufficient enough to make it happen right now?
Jesus is praying for it to happen. Jesus wants peace within His church to spill out and bring peace in the world, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that you have sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22-23)
Our church is the laboratory in which that prayer is made real. We are the proving ground within which the grace of God and the prayers of Jesus are perfected and distributed.
We must get it right. There is no room for error and no time for delay. The world is coming apart. Peace and brotherhood in our neighborhoods and communities is at stake. Our children’s future is under attack. I fear discord and enmity as much as I fear COVID 19. The remedy is the GRACE of God. We can practice God’s grace with each other at church and then inject it into every situation we face in the world.
Lord, help us to be the kind of grace lab and factory our country needs and you would have us to be. Amen.
The apostle Paul said, “…the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.” (Ephesians 3:6-7)
The grace of God is proven and made available to both Jews and Gentiles which brings unity and oneness between fellow believers of all races, languages, and nationalities. Thus, the grace of God is proven within the church body by the harmony between fellow believers. Our church is a laboratory, a proving ground of grace in which all people may worship, serve and fellowship together in the name of Christ Jesus.
What if we could make God’s grace into a vaccine and inject it into the arms of every person in our nation?
What if this grace vaccine began to lessen the impact of hate, prejudice, racism and violence throughout our land?
Remember what the prophet Isaiah said, “…And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:4)
Why do we have to wait until we all get to heaven to find peace and harmony between the nations when we have the grace of God within our church sufficient enough to make it happen right now?
Jesus is praying for it to happen. Jesus wants peace within His church to spill out and bring peace in the world, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that you have sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22-23)
Our church is the laboratory in which that prayer is made real. We are the proving ground within which the grace of God and the prayers of Jesus are perfected and distributed.
We must get it right. There is no room for error and no time for delay. The world is coming apart. Peace and brotherhood in our neighborhoods and communities is at stake. Our children’s future is under attack. I fear discord and enmity as much as I fear COVID 19. The remedy is the GRACE of God. We can practice God’s grace with each other at church and then inject it into every situation we face in the world.
Lord, help us to be the kind of grace lab and factory our country needs and you would have us to be. Amen.
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