WE REALLY DO HAVE A STORY

In the letter of Colossians we learn that in His Church God is raising up an alternative community where truth is told and people matter and persons as persons are not disenfranchised. In Christ, God birthed a new community, a new way of doing life; an alternative to living in a world where words are a-dime-a-dozen and talk so often comes to nothing.

In Christ we live "transferred." We are in the world but we are not of it. We are here but Paul says our lives are "hidden with Christ in God" (3:3). So, we live our lives from within the embrace of God's divine life.

As the Church we live in a community of transformed and transforming people; a community where people are the first priority, and Jesus Christ is in charge of the whole thing; a community where immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech and lies (3: 5, 8-9) have no place; a community where compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiveness, love, the peace of Christ, thankfulness, and the Word of God rule the day (3:12-16).

As the Church we are a community where “Christ is all, and in all” (3:11); a community created on the cross of Christ and enabled by the power that raised Jesus from the dead.

The Church is the community that proclaims Jesus because we believe that Jesus is God’s response to the deepest needs of the human heart.

We proclaim Jesus because “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (2:17).

We proclaim Jesus because there is no other person in the world (no religion, no philosophy, no ideology, no ism) of whom it can be said,” whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

We proclaim Jesus because not only did He die for our sins; He was raised up from the dead to show us just how much of a Savior He is. And, now, in His life we live and in His victory we share.

And, as His Church, we now live as the community of renewal, extending the message of hope to all who will hear it.

It is crucial that we get out to the world the story of Jesus. Crucial.