by Theodore Kalivoda
"Ladies and gentlemen," the pastor announces. We have a special guest worshipping with us this morning - the United States Senator from ___. Please welcome the Honorable ___."
We recognize special people in our midst. It's a common courtesy to show our esteem for their position and accomplishments. We would do it for Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, or anyone else whom we recognize as extraordinary servants of God. They are special, and they deserve acknowledgement for their selflessness and love for humanity.
But others who are far less distinguished are special too. They may not have performed extraordinary acts that command public attention; nevertheless they are very special in God's eyes. Like who? Ordinary believers in Christ! - the Mary Smiths and the John Does who attend church with us every Sunday.
Like the imaginary senator referred to at the outset I too have visited churches, especially overseas, where as an obvious visitor I was approached to give information on myself. It's a social courtesy I gladly cooperated with. Invariably, however, when publicly introduced, I was usually referred to as a university professor visiting the country in some sort of academic capacity. Rarely was mention made of what I consider the most important information about myself - that I am a fellow believer.
Of course, nothing is wrong with addressing a person's status, but it runs the risk of placing value on professional achievement at the expense of anything spiritual. It runs counter to the identification given us through the Holy Spirit, one that makes ordinary believers very special people. Let's see how that works and what implications it holds.
The Holy Spirit
We often overlook God's purpose in implanting the third person of the trinity in us. The Spirit does many things, but I'll limit the discussion to only a few of them, just enough, I hope, to cement in your mind the special status God wants you to enjoy as a Christian.
The Bible cites the honor God bestows on us by regarding us as his holy temple (1 Cor. 3:16). You will remember that his temple of old under Judaism was a sacred place where man and God met. That's no longer so, since He now lives within us, making His temple the Christian's body rather than one of wood and stone. Each believer, housing God in his or her body, is declared holy, a unique being.
Next, we see the Spirit as a unifying force in making Christians God's children (Gal. 4:6). This suggests a family relationship — sons and daughters of the Father as well as brothers and sisters of one another. A family relationship! Thoughts that often come to mind in that regards are care, protection, and yes, even love.
The scripture teaches that since God indwells believers and considers them holy temples as well as sons and daughters - very special positions - then I ought to view them as brothers and sisters. God sees us all as very special people. So why would I want to reflect a different attitude toward them than that held by our Heavenly Father? For example, if I allow myself to be negative in any way, I'm overlooking God's indwelling and how He holds believers as special in his sight. If I show anger or bitterness, I hear God crying out, "What are you doing? That's my son (or my daughter) you're abusing." Further, I hear His voice resonating in my head, "That's your sister in Christ that you're mistreating." I sometimes wonder if God is even saying, "You dishonor your brother in Christ, you dishonor me. I live within him." Can you catch the spiritual implications of it all? We are family! Family members honor and care for each other.
Another role of the Spirit is to identify the saved for the coming day in heaven. It's an identification made when we first believed the gospel message. Here are the exact words: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" (emphasis mine) (Eph. 1:13-14).
The upshot of the matter is that we believers are set apart from the rest of the world by a marking of the Spirit. God calls it his guarantee of eternal life. Because of it, He regards us as saints, holy people. All the more reason why we should treat each other as special. We will be living together in heaven someday where we will stand before the Lord Almighty who bought us with His life and who will treat us as equally special. Will we be ashamed as we recall our former treatment of the man, woman or child who may be standing next to us?
This has had special meaning to me as far back as my teenage years. After graduation from high school I worked at the General Electric plant assembling refrigerators. During the rest break I saw a young man down the line reading the Bible. I figured that anyone doing that under such circumstances had to be a Christian. Enthusiastic about my newfound faith, I approached him, eager to meet another believer with whom to identify. To my astonishment, he didn't have the slightest interest in conversing or even knowing who I was. I thought, if this guy is a believer, what a gross inconsistency in reading the Bible in public and yet being rude to someone seeking friendship. I don't know why he acted that way, but from that day on I resolved never to view a Christian as common or ordinary. The world often rejects us. But a fellow believer?
Love
If Christians are special to God, shouldn't they be to us too? It suggests the importance of a right attitude, one of mutual care and consideration, toward one another, just as Jesus taught. He called it love. It seems a given, then, that we ought to be willing to go out of our way to show kindness to a fellow Christian. Taking one another for granted, or even showing outright rudeness, seems totally inconsistent with our family kinship in Christ. Indeed it's an affront to our Lord who has created that relationship. Let Jesus' words ring in our ears: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
Does that mean that the world's recognition of true discipleship depends on my loving fellow believers? That sure puts a lot of responsibility on me, doesn't it? Flaring up are memories of rudeness to John, of impatience with Sally, of being short-tempered with Dee, my wife. I guess I better get my act together if I am to claim discipleship.
If loving one another is so critical, there is no question that I must zero in on its true meaning. We know that love is more easily said than done. God reminds us to put it into practice, not merely talk or think about it (1 John 3:18). Granted, that's not always easy to do. Self-discipline is involved, like showing kindness even when it impinges on my time or busyness in other matters. In the final analysis, coming to grips with loving others underscores what discipleship for Christ is all about. And that show of discipleship is not a bad idea, since we all want to further Christ's kingdom by attracting others to it. To do otherwise is pure hypocrisy. Do you hope others will identify you as Christ's disciple? Read Jesus' saying again: "All men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another"
(To be continued next week).
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