United with Him
Jesus draws the outside in and works to transform us from the inside out as we are united to Him.
“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body...Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged.”
Numbers 5:2, 6-7
In ancient times people were required to separate from community to protect the community. Medical care was not what it is today and the best way to ensure that others were not harmed was to command people to live on the outside until it was safe to return. It was a loving act to separate people because the good of others was held in higher priority than the rights of the individual. This was further evidenced by the consequence people would face if they wronged another.
Why is it today that so many people feel alone and on the outside? Do you ever feel unseen or unknown? What moves people to the margins? We have advanced care to support community for medical needs, mental health, emotional support, and tools to create community. What is missing in our lives that could help?
“I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”
Psalms 122:1, 6, 8-9
There is a difference between friendships in the community you live and your church family. Jesus said He would build His church. Are you like David and rejoicing as you go with others to a church family? Do you feel like a number in the crowd? Do you prefer to stay where you are and watch church online?
How are your patterns of gathering for worship or in community helping deepen your connections with others? You are not made to be alone and one of the ways we receive God's peace is through community.
“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters...Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? Who can say, I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?"
Proverbs 20:5-6, 9, 12, 24, 27
Who can know the full depth of a person's heart? The experiences of our lives impact our hearts. Every loss, failure, rejection and pain we endure can impact how we guard or give our heart. Wisdom says that no one is perfect and each person sins. What is the impact of that sin? If the relationships we have had are not faithful, does that not cause us to keep a distance to protect our hearts? Take an assessment of your heart. How have your experiences shaped how you love others and receive love.
Wisdom says that God alone knows your heart. He alone is trustworthy and faithful.
“my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert...it happened because of the sins...Now they grope through the streets as if they were blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments. “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them. “Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
Lamentations 4:2-3, 13-15, 22
Sin causes separation. It causes separation from others and from our true self. Look at how the prophet describes the impact of the shame that can be associated with falling short. The enemy of our life will use shame, guilt, anxiety and fear to try to separate you from God and community.
How does this passage impact you? Is there anywhere in your life that you feel separated or ashamed? Some of the most painful experiences of feeling like an outsider come from what we are feeling on the inside.
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:1-8, 11, 13, 15, 18, 22-23
Jesus changes everything. Do we have to live as outsiders? No! There is no more insider or outsider, there is one body, the church, united in Christ. We are united with Christ in death, the natural consequence of sin, and even more we are united with Him in resurrection life. By faith you are drawn in. Jesus is pursuing each of us and will not stop until His love unites you to Him.
Paul asks a simple question. Do we have to continue to experience the slavery to sin that causes so much harm? Sin might be comfortable and part of the patterns of your life, but sin loses its power when we unite our hearts with Jesus. We are set free. We are made new. His love transforms us from the inside out so we live as His beloved.
You have to ask yourself if you are going to live in the truth or live in the false. The false says you are alone, you are on the outside, you are not needed, and you can never break free from your past, your present addictions, and your fears of what's to come. The truth says you are united with the One who overcame death so that you would always know that you belong to Him and you will never be alone.