31 Days of UnitySample

(Re)new: Have you ever wanted to embarrass your enemy? Have you endured public humiliation or scorn at the hands of someone else and wanted to turn the tables on them? Maybe it was a silly moment of childhood when you felt embarrassed or mocked. Or, maybe it was a far more serious moment of injustice and cruelty. The desire for revenge, to see those who harm us “get what is coming to them” is a very common desire. Our forms of justice usually reflect this inclination. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The guilty must experience equivalent suffering as their victims.

In Colossians 2, the Apostle Paul calls the church to live lives rooted in Christ and to overflow with thankfulness. We are thankful because rather than punishing us or seeking our suffering, God has cancelled the debt of our sinfulness, and set us free from bondage. This life rooted in Christ’s love can set us free from all that enslaves us, including the hollow and deceptive philosophies of our world. Our thankfulness continues to grow, overflowing out of our lives, as we realize our freedom from powers we didn’t even know we were trapped by.

Jesus is Lord, over all powers and authorities. There is no power that seeks to control or manipulate us that cannot be overcome through the presence and power of Christ. But, the way that Jesus overcomes these powers is not the way we are inclined to do so. Jesus did in fact shame and make a public spectacle of the powers of this world, but he did so by absorbing their evil and disarming it through his death on the cross. The loving, gracious, merciful, and liberating love of God, displayed on the cross, forever defeated the powers of this world and placed Jesus above all authorities.

As we seek renewal for the church, we must wrestle with this great mystery of the cross. Rather than conquer through force or destruction, Jesus the Lamb of God, came and conquered through sacrificial love. Do our lives, our communities, and the good news we share, reflect this great mystery of God’s love? Has this love set us free from the deceptive and hollow philosophies of our world? Have we been set free from consumerism, domination, bias, and the need for violent retribution? Are we living with an ethic of retribution and punishing our enemies or will we follow the call of Christ to love and bless those that curse us?

May we, as we seek renewal in our lives and the church, come once again to the cross to seek freedom.

After you read the passage, ask yourself these questions:

• How does the cross change our understanding of justice?
• What worldly philosophies do you think the church needs to be liberated from?
• What are some of the reasons you are thankful for the love of God? How has God shown up in your life and changed you?

Our Prayer for (Re)newal

Create in us clean hearts, O God, that we may learn to be your people, and live in unity with one another. Give us the gift of humility, and strengthen us to live in sacrificial love for one another. May we glorify you by being peacemakers in a world of division. Amen