We Are The Redeemed

The two parts of this blog post made me tear up.

The F Word Part One and Part Two: 

And then I prayed, and I will keep praying, "Lord, help your Church represent you well. The culture wars are ugly. But we are called to love. Your disciples will be recognized by how they love. Your Church should be a people with whom love abounds. Help us, gracious Father. Your Word is truth and your Word is life, so help the people who are called by your name to bear them well. May your grace abound within our buildings, within our gatherings, within our midst wherever we find ourselves. For we are the redeemed. Amen."

As we participate in Holy Week this year, my thoughts are drawn to the Christ--Crucified and Risen. Church, have we lost our focus on our Lord? "He became sin, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God." 

I believe sin is very real, and it is the ugliest, most evil force existing in the world today.

And it is in me.

I deal with its force everyday. And I believe this is not a unique ailment that pertains only to me, but rather that it pervades the Church as well. At least I'm pretty sure that only confessed sinners are in need of a Savior.

So if the Savior is real in the lives of the Believers, then I believe we need to start extending the same grace we have received. Lay down the culture wars. Just stop participating, and start imitating Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are." He is absolutely right. Let's stop keeping ourselves blind by focusing on another's sin. For he or she is as entitled to the grace we have received from Jesus Christ as much as we are. I want to recognize my own failings and shortcomings so much, that I can't dare to lift up a rock to throw it at someone else, clinging so desperately to my Redeemer every single day. 

Now imagine if all of us who call ourselves the Church would lay down our rocks, cling to the Redeemer, and just bask in his love.

Something tells me that we would become a far more effective agent of His grace in this world.

Savior, help us. 

We are the Redeemed.