Just right ...

Tuesday, Sept 13, 2016. All churches do the same basic thing ever since: they speak about the gospel of Jesus, and they train people to live in faith. Yesterday on my way home from a workshop over the weekend, I have been trying to get some distance from my daily work, sit in a nice environment in the old Mediterranean city of Trieste, Italy, and think. What are my goals? What are the goals of our community?

The center of the church …

I realized that Christians have always been called to love and to help and to work for one another. In all their struggle with themselves, that is the leading thought, the leading spiritual drive. They are called to reflect God's love, his mercy, his truth, his majesty.

We have been reading Romans, the letter of the apostle Paul to the church in Rome, over the past sessions. Let us continue. It is linked to the purpose of the church, which is faith and nothing else than faith. Paul writes in the third part of his letter:

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Righteous …

What does righteousness mean? Do we have a clear picture? Perhaps we can rephrase it into: you are right with who you are and how you are. You are good. You are just as you should be. You are fantastic, just right. You are great, wonderful. You are well made. You did well. I love you as you are. All this is linked to righteousness. But it also includes: being on the right track. Doing the right things. …

We can only be “right” in the eyes of God, when we are filled with faith. We can only gain righteousness, when we believe in him. He has culminated this into the death and resurrection of his son Jesus. In him, he displayed the consequence of missing righteousness, which is death. In him, he also shows the consequence of faith, which is new life, eternal life!

There is so much to find in the Lord. When you touch him, when his spirit enters your life, you find this full acceptance, this unbelievable righteousness, which comes to you and fully fills you. All is done, all is good, goal reached! This happens, when you enter faith in Christ Jesus. This is, why all who have tasted this spirit of Christ, will hand over his invitation to others: come! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts