“Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:11-13 NLT
A Christian’s tendency to lean toward reverting to pre-Christian ideology is really man’s tendency. We tend to “back slide” in our faith towards a time of extreme uncertainty. This often results in breakdown of community and a rise of in-fighting amongst believers. This insecurity stems from a focus on our own ability towards salvation and a loss of the security that grace has afforded us. This was the paths of the Jewish nation as much as it is the path of Christians to this day. This type of distraction is a church killer. Paul challenges the church at Ephesus to avoid this problem by remembering the state they were in and by learning from the mistakes of others who have come before God. With open eyes, we should not forget where ewe have come from as a people. As we come across people who are insecure or in needless conflict or saddled with a lack of hope, we are to remember that without God’s intervention, we could easily still be those people. Thusly, we must give thanks and grace to God when we encounter those in need. We must be patient and directive with those in this state of despair by showing them our fruit of the Spirit and testifying about how God saved us and then cultivated that fruit. Lastly, we must invite them into that same radical transformation with sincerity and sacrifice of our resources toward that end.
JOSH McGARY. COM 