THOSE DRY BONES

Whatever on earth was God telling Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones?  Now here, in chapter 37, is a strange sight – dry lifeless bones scattered randomly across the valley floor. Not skeletons, mind you, but hopelessly desiccated bones. Then God spoke, and Ezekiel prophesied to those bones. And something happened. They came together, “bone to his bone”. And then another prophecy. The breath of God breathed into those bones and they “came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army”. (Ezekiel 37:10).

Yes, Ezekiel spoke of the restoration of the nation of Israel, which seemed impossible at that time. But there is also a lesson for us, His Church. Scattered bones on their own are useless, nonfunctional. We can see that before the breath of God could enter them, they had to  come together in functional order. Christianity is unique – it’s a “group” thing, it’s the Body of Christ in sync, moving in the Unity of the Spirit. The New Testament is replete with “group” theology- a Body, a Building, a Bride. It just doesn’t work for the Lone Ranger.

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies (plural) as a living sacrifice (singular), holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1).

HANGING OUT WITH THE TRINITY

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

Some Bible words, such as fellowship, can become “churchy” and lose their impact by overuse. So it’s good to take a step back to the original Greek word, KOINONIA, which takes us a little deeper. Koininia can be translated “sharing together in common”. The Church of Jesus Christ is so much more than a religious club or a place to hang out once a week. We are the living, breathing Body of Christ in our world.

The Apostle John reminds us of this in his letter. He and the other disciples had heard, seen and touched the Lord Jesus. They had walked and talked with Him, eaten together, laughed and cried with him. Now John is inviting new believers into this same intimacy  with the Father and the Son. This is good news. Living life in relationship with the Godhead and other believers. Wow! Can we grasp this? Is it too good to be true? Or can it be more than just a religious “pie in the sky” idea with no practical value?

Can we wake up every morning, the minute we are pulled out of sleep, and reach out to the Father as Jesus did? Offer up our day, our life, to Him? Jump into that relationship with Him that can stretch out into the day, guiding us, renewing us, taking us over the bumps, filling us with the very life of Christ? 

Fellowship – yes! Sharing His Life together

THE CHURCH GOD DESIRES

Eph. 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

For what reason? Paul has just explained to the Church at Ephesus a great mystery. It’s been hidden for ages, he tells us, but is no longer a mystery, and here it is, in plain view. God the Father is going to reveal His manifold wisdom to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms THROUGH THE CHURCH! This is the mystery revealed. And for THIS REASON he kneels in prayer before the Father to ask Him to establish the Church in love, because when that happens, they will know this love that surpasses knowledge and be filled with the fullness of God. Wow. How does that work out? How does that look in a body of believers?

Well, I’ve recently found myself praying for AGAPE love in a certain situation. And experiencing unusual infusions of Grace in tricky situations, loving beyond my human capacity. The interesting thing is that the love is coming back to me. Is this the fullness of God? Does the love of Christ seed itself? Can we imagine a church body living in this kind of supernatural love? YES! That’s why Jesus died for His Church!

THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN?

Some of us are old enough to remember the days of the Lone Ranger. He and his sidekick Tonto would gallop on the radio waves into the imaginations of small boys and girls with a “Heigh Ho Silver – Away!” He conquered the “bad guys” of the Wild West all alone, with Tonto his only backup. He was a one man show.

Some years ago I was dismayed to hear a “gospel song” with the unsettling title “Me and Jesus”. Here are the lyrics:

“Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going,

Me and Jesus, we got it all worked out.

Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going,

We don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about.”

Well, what about that? Warning lights are flashing. The problem here is that Christianity is a “group” thing. We are the body of Christ, members in particular, but One Body. We would find it ridiculous to cut off a little finger and expect it to function. Jesus repeatedly addressed his disciples in the plural. “When YE pray…when YE fast…YE are the light of the world”. All of you together, one light. The epistles of the New Testament pick up this bedrock truth. “Know YE not that YE (plural) are the Temple of God (singular)?” writes Paul. How can the Body of Christ minister to each other if we don’t gather together? TV preachers don’t know your name. They won’t come when you call in crisis. How could they?

Oh, how imperfect we all are. And yet, how desperately we need each other. Someone has observed that when the shepherd boy David faced the giant, he went to the brook for his ammunition. Why? Because those stones had been jostled against each other in the water until their jagged edges were polished to smoothness. David knew they would fly straight. This is what fellowship does for us; it knocks off our rough edges. It makes us accurate and useful in God’s Kingdom. It’s often painful, but this is where we grow to be more like Jesus.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb. 10;24,25)