The Ministry of Reconciliation – We Can Do Better

Posted on September 6, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NASB)

Having grown up in the church, I do not have the personal perspective of one who was outside and is now inside the circle of fellowship. I can, however, read articles and editorial comments as to how many perceive the church.

Many perceive the church as a gathering of folks who think themselves better than others because of their good behavior. Even people who might want to check out church are put off by the fact that their current lifestyle may not be acceptable and that they would have to clean up their act before coming to a worship service.

Contrast this with what we see in the Gospels. Jesus had sinners all around him. They seemed to enjoy his presence and did not feel condemned. In fact, to the woman caught in adultery Jesus explicitly told her that he did not condemn her (John 8:11).

Why then do “sinners” feel put off by the church, the gathering of people who are seeking to imitate the Jesus that sinners loved?

I’m under no delusions that if the church was perfect, that everyone would hold her in high opinion. Many willfully misrepresented or misunderstood what Jesus said when he was walking this planet; this same willfulness is in operation today.

The fact that some will not listen, does not relieve us of the duty of fulfilling our mission. Paul tells us in the verses quoted above that because we, as believers, have been reconciled to God, we have the ministry of reconciliation. God chooses to allow us to participate in the reconciliation of others to himself.

When visitors come to your church do they immediately apprehend that you are a group of the reconciled, looking to bring others into that same reconciliation that you’ve experienced? Do they feel loved and accepted? Do they perceive that reconciliation offers a way out of the struggles that they are currently experiencing?

Or, do they feel unworthy, unclean and irreconcilable when they visit? Do they feel that because of their clothing or piercings or tattoos or substance abuse or . . . that they are never to be included in the fellowship?

I’m not writing this as one who has this all straight. I can be just as comfortable doing church as the next person. I can settle into a routine and be cranky about somebody messing it up. Yet, I am convicted that there is a large chunk of our society that has no knowledge of Jesus and unless I am willing to get uncomfortable, they will remain ignorant.

I sometimes wonder if we, as the church, took our mission of reconciliation seriously if our society would not be a lot different than it is. Before we place blame for the condition of our social and political systems, we need to take a hard look in the mirror of Scripture and confess the areas where we fall short.

It is time for the church to be a fellowship of the reconciled, bringing others into the same reconciliation. We and our world will be different as a result.

What is Caesar’s and What is God’s?

Posted on July 20, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17 and Luke 20:25 record the familiar phrase “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” The fact that all three of the Synoptic Gospels record this saying is an indication to me that it is very important. There is something here that I am supposed to get.

Hearing this taught while growing up in the church and reading the Gospels for myself, I never encountered any idea that this passage might be saying anything more than it is right to pay taxes.

The government has the authority to demand taxes and we are called to be obedient and pay them. Recently, when reflecting on this verse, it seems to met that In addition to taxes, the government, or world system, can demand our time, our effort and our intellectual power. In short, Caesar, as representative of the world system can demand our resources from us.

The world can demand our resources but what are we to render to God?

1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us that we, as believers, have been purchased for God, therefore we belong to God. The thing that we need to render to God is us. To render myself to God is to acknowledge that he is in the ownership position and I am to do his bidding. We get a sense of this from openings verses of Paul’s letters where he refers to himself as a bond slave of Jesus Christ. Paul had that sense of ownership that we are to have.

We are to render our resources to the world and our selves to God. This seems very straight forward and should be easy, right?

it is not so easy. I have observed in myself and others that the opposite often takes place. It is too easy to have a punch-the-clock mentality with regard to our Christianity. Put in the time, give our tithe, perform that ministry, and we satisfied our obligation. I sometimes get it backwards and give myself to pursuit of what the world tells me I should value while being content to give a small portion of my resources to God. It is to easy to get this entirely backwards.

Jesus, quoting from Isaiah 29:13, said of the Israelites of his day, “this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8). There are times when I’m going through the motions and my heart is not wholly devoted to God, even when participating in church or ministry.

Perhaps the beginning of revival is for us to examine ourselves for misplaced affections, repent and give to God what is his. He bought us at a very high price.

Lightning Bugs, Smiles and a Loving Creator

Posted on June 30, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

I woke up early this morning and looked out the window. The lightning bugs (fireflies for those of you who live outside of Pennsylvania) were putting on a spectacular show. There were more flashes than a Super Bowl halftime show, without the old guys singing or wardrobe malfunctions.

I am thankful that our Creator made lightning bugs. They are unnecessary but enjoyable. I remember as a boy, catching them, putting them in jars and watching the jar as I fell asleep in my bedroom. I think that God delights in children enjoying the chase and capture of these bugs.

For those of you who deny God I ask what evolutionary purpose do lightning bugs serve? Why would blind chance come up with something that is so entertaining and beautiful? Do you really want to attribute them to an impersonal force?

Lightning bugs speak to me of a loving Creator that wants us to be delighted with his Creation. The humor and beauty that he infuses into creation are like bread crumbs that are to lead us on the trail to himself. Lightning bugs are like getting a note from God, saying “I hope you enjoy these, I made them just for you.”

May we never grow too old to take delight in lightning bugs.

Going Out as Wolf Food – Baaaaaaaa!

Posted on June 6, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

Sent Out As Wolf Food

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus commissioned his disciples by sending them out as sheep among wolves. Those of us who have grown up in the church have heard this many times, so the phrase may not impact us the way it would have impacted the disciples when they first heard it.

I have had little exposure to sheep, but my few encounters have given me the idea that sheep are not particularly aggressive. I also am under the impression that they are not very capable in the self defense department. The disciples would have understood this better than an American suburbanite; they would have understood that Jesus was informing them that they were being sent out as wolf food.

This is a curious motivational strategy, one not often used today. We prefer to send people out with thoughts of victory and success rather than thoughts of defeat and perhaps death. Can you envision this as the next great church growth program? “Come and learn to be wolf food!”

Defenseless But Not Undefended

Was Jesus sending them out to certain defeat? 2,000 years of Church history prove otherwise. The same disciples that Jesus first sent out began the spiritual revolution that turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6).

If defeat was not what he had in mind, what then is Jesus saying? I think that Jesus is letting his disciples (of all times and all places) know that we are to go out with the understanding that we are defenseless on our own. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that our battle is not a normal human battle. It is a spiritual one, one that we cannot fight with normal human wisdom and power. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has promised to be with us the whole way. We are not left unprotected. I need only to follow the Shepherd, Jesus will take charge of the results.

Another aspect of being sheep among wolves is that we are to be gentle. Sheep will not deal harshly with wolves. Jesus also tells his disciples to be as innocent as doves, another not-so-fearsome animal. Along this line, Peter tells is in 1 Peter 3:15 that we are to give an answer to those who question us, but do it with gentleness and respect.

Implications For Today

The point I take from this is that Jesus sent the disciples out with the knowledge that the they were not responsible for the success of the venture. Sheep cannot intimidate wolves into changing their behavior. Sheep by themselves will have no impact on the wolves. In the same way, we are not called to harangue, argue or bribe anyone into the Kingdom of Heaven. We are to give testimony to the truth of the Gospel with both our speech and our actions.

Can we, as the church, learn to be OK with being sheep and let the wolves be wolves? Can we give up the apparent need to label everything and everyone with whom we don’t agree? Can we not feel pressured to mount a crusade against every company that implements policies which we find offensive? Can we learn to display God’s love for those who are not yet in relationship with him?

I know that even if we lived out Jesus’ teaching perfectly, there would still be people offended by us. But then, the offense would be the gospel itself, not the way we demonstrate it by our words and actions.

Can we make a run at living in such a way as to invite people into relationship with Jesus? What do you think?