Dec. 24th - Your Church - Matthew 16:16-18
"Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."
When you think of your church, what
images come to your mind? The first that came to my mind, as with many,
was the actual building, but that isn't really the church. The Church,
His Church, consists of people.
In our verse today, Jesus is
speaking to His disciples after asking the question "But who do you say
that I am?" Peter answers correctly that Jesus is "the Christ
(Messiah/Savior), the Son of the Living God." I love that Jesus
tells Peter that no one revealed that to him, but God, the Father. No one can be "talked into" becoming a Christian; if we could, then
we could also be talked out of it. Faith goes beyond intellect. We
are also not automatically born a Christian. God Himself reveals His
Truth to us and gives us the choice to trust Him or not. It is an act of
our will to believe on Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. (John 3:16-18; 1 John 5:12)
But Jesus goes on to say "Upon
this rock my church will be built"...upon this truth that Peter
confesses. His church is built like a building with many stones. I
wonder if Peter was remembering this when God had him pen 1 Peter 2:5 -
"you
also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ."
Take a look at some buildings today
and notice the "stones". During this first century stones would
have been cut by
hand with no two exactly the same. Each would be unique and fit together
a lot like the photo of the stained glass above.
Each one of
us are individually so unique in our personalities, our backgrounds, our life
experiences, our spiritual gifting, etc. Yet God chooses to connect us
together as His temple - His church - His body to uniquely fit together for His
glory.
I love how
this truth is seen in stained glass especially as sunlight beams through the
pieces. May we realize today how the Light of the World desires to shine
through us as His church!
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
PS: Fordi dette er en engelsk julekalender, får du også 25. med på kjøpet idag. Se neste blogginnlegg :)
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