A Christian Faith

1. Then חןחי created Man in His image; male and female created He them.
2. Your Father in Heaven is holy so you should be holy.
3. Christ is the visible manifestation of the invisible God.
4. If you faith, whatever you ask in My name will be done.

Our Creator called us into existence as a perfect reflection of Himself. We have flourished as an imperfect, often disastrously flawed, one. Sacrificing His one perfect Son, He provided the means for us to be restored to perfection. Faith is imitating Christ Jesus, the Son of God. The more closely we reproduce the Son of Man in our lives, the greater is our faith. When we behave as he behaved, speak as he spoke, relate to others as he related to others, we glorify our Father—His Father—in Heaven.

The fallen, human nature that we have detracts from the faithfulness of the likeness we project. To the extent that we manifest that (fallen) nature, we are each a “self”. To the extent that we manifest Christ Jesus, we are each a “Christling”. The tendency of a Man or a Woman to manifest “self” is called “selfishness” while the tendency to manifest Christ is called “Christianity”.

The Church is a community of Christlings, called together to support one another in Faith. Its commission is to assemble its members into a mirror and hold that mirror up to the world. Not that the world will be mirrored in the mirror but that the Son will be revealed through it. Should the world detect a flaw in the mirror’s image, it need only supply the missing pixels to mend the flaw. Similarly, it is not the mirror’s purpose to judge either its members or the world. Rather, each member that perceives an imperfection in the image borne by the Church of the God that created it need only contribute a more faithful rendering of his or her own pixel. And so shall God be manifest in His Church.

I long for a fellowship that worships in this way: no “leaders” or “clergy”; only members of a mystical body. Instead of a few so-called “elders” (many of whom are younger than those they supposedly serve) displayed on a dais for the perusal of a multitude of “congregants” (other, essentially nondescript people) arranged in pews or rows of chairs, I long for a circular sanctuary in which each member faces each other and follows the example of the Head Member. As Christ Jesus trained his Twelve to replace him after his ascent into Heaven, so this Head Member should train his own flock to replace himself or herself.

If we are truly of one birth, no longer male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, it should not matter whether the Head Member is a Man or a Woman. Indeed, if we are all dead in our sins—having been made alive only by our assembly into the body of Christ—it should not matter that one is a thief while another is a murderer and yet another is an adulterer. Yet, it is commonplace in the “Church” of today for some sinners to imagine themselves as somehow less abominable than are other sinners. Those who hate or lie think of themselves as somehow less reprehensible than are those who fornicate or steal. This is ridiculous. If any are to be despised, all should be despised alike; similarly, if any are to be forgiven, all should be forgiven alike. The Head Member, therefore, should be the Man or Woman—whether Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, gay or straight—who most faithfully manifests the glory of the Creator. All other members should be of equal rank and equally authorized to minister to one another or to the world at large.

While all births are equal and therefore all memberships are equal, not all gifts are equal. Or, rather, while all gifts are of equal value, they are not all of similar nature. Therefore, the particular role any individual member plays in the Body depends upon what his or her particular gifts are. One may be an exceptional communicator while another is a particularly helpful servant. Yet another may be a gifted artist while another is an accomplished singer. The contribution of the younger members—or those whose gifts have not yet been tested in the world—should not be despised, however. They should be encouraged to serve in those areas that interest them. If, in the fullness of time, they should prove unequal to their areas of interest but worthy of another station, they should be encouraged—but never coerced—to serve elsewhere.

To be continued....