Pastor's Corner: God's family

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes: “So now you are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself” (Ephesians 2: 19-20, New Living Translation). In this section of Scripture, Paul wants us to remember what we were like before we were saved, what God did to save us through Christ on the cross, and what we have as a result. This is true for each individual as well as the whole community of Christians. We, as believers, are being constructed into a dwelling place for God!

Before Paul explains to us what we are becoming, he needs to lay the groundwork. He gives us the key that gets us in the door; if we want to open the door to salvation, the key, which God made possible through grace, is faith. Paul also gives us the title, which shows who the building belongs to. We are citizens with the saints, members of the household of God; we are no longer homeless, transient, illegal aliens. Lastly, Paul lays the foundation, Christ Jesus himself, upon which the building stands!

Right now is one of the few times in human history that we are all being challenged by the same thing at the same time. Of course, we are all experiencing the pandemic differently, but we are all affected in some way. And yet, despite our common experience, we are as divided as ever. You don’t need me to tell you that. We seem to have forgotten that we are all part of the same human race as we divide up by black and white, mask and no mask, sickness and health, pro-government and anti-government, essential and non-essential, liberal and conservative.

Living in Montana, the adage “there are only two seasons — winter and construction” has true meaning! As I drive through the construction on the way from Chinook to Havre, it is much like our lives, filled with dust settling from the storms of life, divots rocking us on a different path, sounds pulling our attention away, signs warning us of the detours and slow-downs. Even in the construction zone of our troubled hearts, God is hard at work in our world re-constructing us from our old selfish ways of living into a new creation! Every time that we listen to someone instead of speak, that we open our heart to deeper understanding and admit our own complicity, that we seek and offer forgiveness, we are becoming more authentically our created selves.

As members of God’s family, you belong here with as much right to the Christian name as anyone. We do not have to earn or deserve that membership. God is building a home and He is using all of us — irrespective of how we got here — in what he is building. God used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he is using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We are God’s beautiful design in His kingdom of love! Sometimes our construction is noisy, sometimes it is slow, it is always messy, but we are seeing it take shape day after day — a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a dwelling in which God is quite at home. Thanks be to God!

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The Rev. Maggie Lewis

First Presbyterian Church, Havre

Chinook Presbyterian Church