What would you have if you only had today what you were grateful for yesterday?

We’ve heard it from churches and individuals in the past and I am quite confident it isn’t the last time we’ll hear it: “Hope Community Church is all about the numbers.” 

What our friends mean by this is Hope will do anything to get big.  That all we want is more and more people so that we are deemed “successful” by others around us.  That we want to be the biggest church in the area.  The flip side of the the same comment is that we water down the truth.  We don’t call sin sin.  We put on productions rather than lead people in worship. We are not so concerned with Jesus as we are with big buildings, big programs and big budgets.

Truth be told, our friends are right.  We are all about numbers!  But when we say this, we are not affirming the disparaging remarks of our friends as stated above.  Rather, we believe that every number represents a person for whom Christ died.  A number is a person who might some day be numbered among those who “were added to the church” as we read in the book of Acts.  Those numbers are people who may be used of God to bring the message of Christ to the next generation. To bring hope and healing to the hurting of this world.  To offer a drink or food in the name of Jesus.  To aid in helping the world see Jesus through their love and unity.

So, yes, Hope cares very much about numbers…seeing numbers of people—large numbers of people—embrace Christ through faith and experience the joy of being part of God’s family.  I think the old adage is appropriate: the more the merrier! 

Recently, Mike Lee, our senior pastor at Hope Community Church (www.gethope.net), Raleigh, NC, shared his vision about relocating the campus to the west Cary or northwest Cary area.  Three very specific reasons for such a move are accessibility, visibility and, most importantly, expanding the kingdom’s influence to the most rapidly growing area in Wake County. 

Mike’s desire is to see Hope’s new campus close to the 540/55 interchange allowing very direct access from both of these major traffic arteries—easy access from S. Durham, N. Raleigh, the Brier Creek area, Apex and, of course, Cary itself.  The ease of reaching Hope’s campus there will only expand as 540 is completed. 

Relocating the campus to 55 would make Hope not only more accessible but much more visible.  Our current campus is not only off the beaten path, but it is also set back on our piece of property.  Many people, including some of my own acquaintances, did not know a church was even on that property.  They would see the school and assume the whole complex was part of it.  There is something to be said for a church being very visible and identifiable.

The west and, more specifically, the northwest part of Cary (close to the 540/55 interchange) is the fastest growing part of Wake County according to Wake’s own demographic study.  The need for a (another) thriving church is clear.  With another 25,000 people expected to move into that area over the next decade, Hope’s influence could be profound and the impact eternal.

There are more reasons, but these three are compelling:

1. Accessibility
2. Visibility
3. Kingdom Impact

Join me in praying that the Lord makes it clear to Hope’s leadership what would be the wisest thing to do.  We don’t want to assume that human planning is tantamount to heavenly wisdom.  On the other hand, we don’t want to not plan only to find that we missed a divinely ordained open door to make an impact for Christ.

Say the word imagine and in many people’s minds a song starts playing.  It is John Lennon’s song, Imagine.  A part of the lyrics go like this:

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do

Say what you will about his philosophy or theology, Lennon had a goal in mind when he wrote:

I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Lennon, for whatever reason and motivation, desired to see the world united.  A place without prejudice, discrimination, and hate.  Michael Jackson and other popular artists sang about the world being a better place to live—when the world must come together as one. 

Recently a young man in our neighborhood took several people hostage at a bank.  Rather than robbing the bank, he expressed through a pained heart that he simply wanted a loving family, a hug from his father.  What he was saying is he wanted unity in his home…a family where there was a common love for one another and a purpose to life; not only as a family but as individuals too. 

As followers of Christ, we should be aware that unity characterized by love, patience and grace is precisely what Christ prayed for for his followers (John 17:11, 20-23).  Jesus praying to his Father said (17:23):

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Jesus had a very specific reason for praying that his followers be unified.  Unity was not an end in itself in this verse but a means to show the world that God sent his son, Jesus, and that God loves his people even as he loves his own son. 

When a local church is not unified, it keeps the world from seeing Jesus!  A world that doesn’t see Jesus, and hear from a church that God loves them and gave his son for them, will be left to only imagine a world where peace, patience and grace exists.    So many local churches do not experience unity and therefore can’t show off the love that God has for the world.  Is it any wonder why so many people crave unity and love?  Why so many songs are written about peace and unity?  Why so many people hunger for a place to belong that is accepting, gracious, kind and loving? 

Imagine a church that pursues unity in truth and in grace with everything it can muster (Ephesians 4:3, 13).  Imagine the life-changing, yes world-changing effect such a church could have!  Imagine the joy you would experience if you were not only part of such a church, but you actually played a major role in bringing and maintaining its unity. By God’s grace pursue unity in your church by being a Christ follower characterized by grace, truth, peace and patience. 

Imagine…it isn’t hard to do.  Practice…that’s another story.

Aldous Huxley was right when he said that we love the things that oppress us.  Some of those things we love yet that have us in chains are anger, an unforgiving spirit, slander, and gossip.  Certainly not an exhaustive list, but often the kinds of “respectable sins” with which we put up. 

About anger I think Frederick Bruechner said it well:

Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back — in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.

Examine your life…enjoying any of these “pleasures”?

We all learned in math that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  While that works in mathematics, it doesn’t work when driving.  Perhaps it would  be better to say that the straightest way isn’t always the best way.  On a vacation my wife and I took to Turks & Caicos several years ago, we took a rental car from our hotel to a conch farm on the other side of the island (Providenciales).  Though not a math expert, I wanted to take the straightest route possible in order to save some time.  My wife I now know would have enjoyed the route with actual roads. 

The idea that the shortest distance may not be the best distance is borne out in Scripture as well.  Once Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them to the land of promise the shortest way, but the way He deemed best.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”  So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.         (Exo 13:17-18)

Sometimes God’s ways seem more like the tacking of a sailboat than a linear process.  His ways resemble a zigzag more than a straight line.  Notice, though, that God’s reason in this passage is for the well-being of His people.  If the people had encountered the Philistines or any number of other marauders, they may have considered Egypt a better alternative to the hassle of getting to the Promised Land.  And life outside the Promised Land was a life lived outside of God’s promised blessings!  So God had their good in mind as He does ours as He had them travel from the straightest and shortest route (about 7 days journey) to a much longer route (about 40 years). 

As the story goes, the people zigged and zagged for many years.  But all the way God also promised them His presence (pillar of smoke/fire; Exo 13:20-22) and a reminder of His promise to get them to their final destination (Exo 13:19).  God’s promise was wrapped up in an oath Joseph made his fellow countrymen take.  In Genesis 50:24-25 we read of God’s promise to bring His people to the Promised Land.  Joseph, being close to death, had the sons of Israel promise that they would take his bones to the Promised Land and bury them there.  As long as they had the bones, they were reminded of their final destination—the land God said would be theirs and theirs alone.  So with God’s promise and provision, the people tacked back and forth before arriving at their final destination.   

We live on the bright side of the cross.  We have the completed revelation of God to humanity, the Bible.  We have the greatest provision: the forgiveness of sins in Jesus and the indwelling Spirit.  And it is a good thing because life is a zigzag or a series of tackings.  There are no straight shots.  So whether you are in a zig or a zag, cling to God’s promises (the Word) and walk according to God’s provision (the Spirit).  The way will be rough, but the promised destination will be ours!

One of the most startling sentences in the Bible is “Therefore be imitators of God, as dearly beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1; http://esv.to/Ep5.1).  The apostle Paul doesn’t mince words when he calls Christ followers to mimic God.  Paul doesn’t say this is for really mature believers. He didn’t say do it only if you really feel led to do it.  Paul puts it in command form, because it is the essence of the Christian experience.  Difficult but possible, and not only possible but commanded!

For the apostle Paul, commanding this of the Christians in Ephesus (and surrounding areas) was not something new.  In the very first chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1), we are told that the original couple were made in the image of God.  Whatever the image of God means, it certainly included expressing the character of God in life.  Such character reflection requires one keep in mind the object to be mirrored, which our original “parents” clearly did not do.  But we shouldn’t be too hard on them for we would have done the same.  I say that because we often fail to do it as his children today.

A couple of observations that are key to obeying this command.  First, notice that the sentence didn’t end with the requirement to mimic God.  Tied up with the command is the crucial reminder of who we are as Christ followers: we are God’s children.  We come from God and we belong to God; we are his creation and his treasure—children.  As God’s creation, made in his image, we have the moral qualities to reflect him much as I reflect my earthly father in so many ways.  Yet we are God’s treasure (just read Ephesians 1; http://esv.to/Ep1.3-23), his special possession.  And we are that by his grace through Christ.  In other words, we are motivated to mimic God, not because he is the judge that will zap us if we don’t, but because he is our kind and compassionate heavenly Father who has lavished us with grace.  We ought to be motivated by God’s grace and love for us.  Our motivation is key to the imitation of God.  To mimic God for any other reason than his extreme love for us is to fall into a legalism that outwardly does but inwardly is not.

Second, the apostle Paul doesn’t leave us in the dark about which he is specifically calling us to imitate.  The command is couched between two “as” statements.  Let’s take a look (http://esv.to/Eph4.32-5.2).

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as dearly beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

The two “as” statements give us the imitation characteristics.  If we are to imitate God then the following must be true of us:

be kind to one another

tenderhearted

forgiving one another

walk in love

Again we are not left without example nor motivation.  Our character is to reflect God and Christ not some earthly person we admire (though there are fine examples out there of these qualities).  Nor is our life to reflect the present cultural version of these qualities.  Nor ought we take our cue from contemporary music and thought.  We imitate God and Christ.  They have practically and tangibly shown us the way.  We who have placed our confidence in Christ alone have experienced God’s kindness and tender heart and forgiveness.  We have experienced Christ’s love and are reminded of it whenever we look at the cross. 

Our heavenly Father and his son and our savior provide the motivation as well.  They pursued us with these qualities when we were running the opposite direction with disdain in our hearts for the very things for which we longed.  We tend to crave the things that hurt us and run from the things we need (yet really crave).  But we ought to be motivated by what God has done for us in Christ—motivated by grace and love—in all of our relationships. 

The apostle gives us a command to obey which comes from hearts motivated by God’s example of love and grace in Christ.  If we are to imitate God, we have to practically reflect these four qualities in our daily spheres of influence and relationships. 

Go imitate God!