Читать книгу Hear the Ancient Wisdom - Charles Ringma - Страница 70

March 2

The Nurturing Christ

Being a Christian is not only having come to faith in Christ and living a life of discipleship. It also has to do with being sustained and nurtured by Christ.

Sadly, for many Christians their sense of the life of faith is primarily one of demand. The Christian life is living with intensity the expectations God has of us. And since God demanded a lot of Jesus, God’s faithful Son, God will also demand much of us, his often unfaithful followers. The demand of God rather than the grace of God is thus the main theme.

But the life of faith is first and foremost not one of demand but one of welcome, grace, and blessing. It is living in the joy of reconciliation, the goodness of forgiveness and the wonder of God’s presence.

The church father Theophilus understood well this uplifting movement of God’s grace. He writes, “Today Christ feasts us; today Christ serves us; Christ, the lover of mankind, refreshes us.”61

This clearly reflects the movement of the gospel. Christ came to

forgive. He came to heal. He came to serve. He came to give us life as a blessing for all. Here generosity is the main theme.

Christ loves us into a fullness of life. He sustains us in our faithfulness. He nurtures us into obedience. He empowers us for service. He shapes us into God-likeness.

Thought

The word of demand constrains us. The acts of love free us. The presence of God lifts us up.