We Are One In Christ

All summer at LAC, we have been thinking about what church "life together" should be like with the Apostle Paul's letters to the Philippians and Philemon as our guides. This weekend, we will look back and seek to summarize what these New Testament epistles teach us about church life. I doubt that anyone will be surprised when I say that the Bible's lessons to us all center on how we respond to Jesus. When we have truly met Jesus and surrendered in faith to him, we are brought into a family in which God is Father and Jesus is Lord. Therefore, the starting point for experiencing life together in God's family is having an authentic encounter with Jesus. The testimony of Paul's life-transforming encounter can be found in Acts 9.

Blaise Pascal—the mathematician, physicist, inventor, and author—is another who gave testimony of how meeting Jesus transforms every moment of life. His own experience was so dramatic that he wrote it down and had it sewn into his jacket. Here is a part of what he wrote:

In the year of grace, 1654, on Monday, 23rd of November...
Fire!
Certitude. Assurance. Deep feeling. Joy. Peace.
Meeting the God of Jesus Christ...
Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy...
Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.
I have run from him, denied him, crucified him.
Now, let me never be separated from him...
Eternally in joy for a day's encounter on earth...

Pascal had this testimony sewn under the lining of successive coats until he died. He knew that in the daily rigor of life in this world he could easily forget the reality of Jesus. Jesus knew this too, so he gave us the church family and told us not to forsake meeting together. In our gatherings, we must cast our eyes afresh on the person of Jesus. We dare never forget who he is and what he has done. And, to help us, Jesus told us to do what we will do today, i.e., remember his death and resurrection at the "Lord's Table," until he returns. When Jesus is Lord of the church, our lives together will acknowledge his presence, reflect his glory, and be filled with his joy.

To His Glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor