October Muse

Recently I’ve been meditating on Jesus-shaped unity. As I come across good brothers of the Protestant ilk, I’m joyfully impressed by their love for Jesus and me as their brother. Because we have the same main beliefs, our bond is stronger and really all that matters.

No matter if some celebrate All Hollows Eve or Reformation Day, our preference of celebration doesn’t interfere with our unity. And that’s a great thing. As I get to meet more and more people in Fairburn, I’m reminded more of what unites us than what divides us. Some are planning to celebrate halloween tomorrow and have a blast. Some have already celebrated trunk-or-treat and had a blast. Both can be good things. Zero sum thinking doesn’t have to reign here.

Love of Jesus and the Christian essentials is at the center of this Jesus-shaped unity. I’m often reminded of it when I encounter some brothers who want to ‘team up’ for the conservative right or against CRT. Those same brothers are often meek as a mouse when it comes to the language and ideology of Christian nationalism, and other hurtful approaches that have caused major family pain due to syncretism.

Mike Glenn had this to say, “Someone who bears the name has come to terms with their own brokenness and failures. A Christian is someone who recognizes they can’t fix what is broken within them nor repair the damage they’ve done in others. A Christ follower has realized that Jesus and Jesus alone understands the best way to live life and He alone, has the power, grace, mercy and love needed to make something new out of our wreckage.”

Richard Hays adds this helpful note, “The term love has become debased in popular discourse; it has lost its power of discrimination, having become a cover for all manner of vapid self-indulgence.” And then I came to realize the meaty part of my meditation. The Christian life is a character-transforming life because Jesus is at the center of it. Fundamentally, this is an inner work on the heart. After all, it is the wellspring of human action.

So here I am thinking of this Jesus-shaped unity looking at the Jesus-shaped kingdom proclaimed in Luke 4 where Jesus connected all of this to Jubilee. And joy, delight, and discipleship all stem from this connection! Wow, what a wonderful God we serve.