Author: Paul Nordman

Categories
Uncategorized

Human Tiles in the Divine Mosaic

I would have to say the mosaic icons in The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, are more captivating and inspirational than any European cathedral artwork I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. Here master mosaicist Bruno Salvatori arranged an estimated five million Venetian glass tiles of various colors, shapes and sizes into intricate patterns to depict the early-church apostles and some of their Old Testament forebears. His exquisite portraits dutifully adorn the walls and vaults of the Byzantine structure as thoughtful reminders of these ancients of the faith, yet they also illustrate something even more profound, the unsearchable beauty and creative genius that is the church—the body of Christ.

The apostle Paul explained that to each believer there are given different kinds of spiritual gifts, all of which are “the work of one and the same Spirit,” and that “he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”1 Every such gift is a “manifestation of the Spirit … given for the common good,”2 he mused. We are, in a way, like pieces of glass in countless combinations of dimension and hue. Some stand out as bold shards of brilliant red, those who preach or those who exhort us onward to our heavenly goal. Evangelists among us emanate life and hope with all the energy and optimism of sunlight yellow, while teachers of indigo blue dive deep in study, raising to the surface unalterable gospel truths and revealing them in graspable ways. Those who serve as accents or assume background positions are every bit as worthy of honor and appreciation—reliable earth tones representing the bedrock of faith and wisdom, and golden inlays, the hearts of the givers, perhaps the greatest of whom are the poor who sacrifice generous portions of limited means.

We are all precious tiles of inestimable worth in the hands of the true Master, and He has arranged “every one … just as he wanted [us] to be.”3 Yet this masterpiece, this body of Christ, is alive and with purpose, climbing down from our domes and commencing forth from our walls to serve others in grace and truth and in justice and mercy. Peter challenges us: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”4 Paul likewise exhorts, “Do not neglect your gift”5; we are instead to “Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you … For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”6

It is a beautiful thing God has done in your life and in mine. Then this body He has made from all of us is utterly breathtaking, and what He accomplishes through us, life-giving.

Father, through Christ you bring us into your glory; be glorified in the praises—the living sacrifices—of your people today. In Jesus we live, and in His name we pray. Amen.

1 1 Corinthians 12:11
2 1 Corinthians 12:7
3 1 Corinthians 12:18
4 1 Peter 4:10
5 1 Timothy 4:14
6 2 Timothy 1:6, 7

 

Categories
Uncategorized

When More Is Less

It was those darn Pharisees again, some of them now believers in Christ (yea!) but pushing some alloyed brand of righteousness: “grace-plus,” we might dub it—believe in Jesus as the Messiah, yes, but still earn God’s favor by keeping the law. It was a straddling of the fence, trusting God but not all the way, compromise when compromise was the worst possible option. Protecting liberty against oppression—and with all the boldness required to do so—Peter spoke up, “Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yolk that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved.”1 Thank you, Peter, it needed to be said.

How many times does God have to remind us of the emptiness of our own goodness? “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one,”2 lamented David in a psalm intoned by God’s people for centuries. Echoed Isaiah, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”3 So, do we now with “filthy rags” augment Jesus’ sacrificial atonement for our sin as though it were insufficient? Do we load again onto the backs of His people the law, a burden Christ so painfully, lovingly and completely removed at great cost? Peter, redux: “No!” What righteousness could we or anyone else possibly contribute to that which God himself has given to us in Christ Jesus? “Grace-plus” is grace-less!

We can do nothing more than what Christ has already done for us, for there is nothing more to be done. Paul explains: “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”4 This is the truth in which we rest, the promise in which we stand, and the strength in which we go. We are forever forgiven and free. Praise His name!

Father, thank you for sending your Son to do what we could not do—live a perfect life, die a perfect sacrifice, and rise to present us perfectly to you. Grace us to live as free people, blessing you and serving others in great confidence, peace and joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Christ in me is freedom.

1 Acts 15:10, 11
2 Psalm 14:3
3 Isaiah 64:6
4 Romans 8:3, 4

Categories
Uncategorized

Smash! Crash!

In our growing-up years, my friend Duane’s family owned an auto salvage yard in our home town. Junk cars were their expertise, harvesting parts for resale and reuse, while selling off unusable metal to scrap dealers. It came as no surprise, then, that when August came around—and the county fair with it—Duane entered the Demolition Derby. Now, he had acres of inventory from which to choose his ride, but I can promise you this—Duane’s Corvette was never a consideration for the annual melee in the mud. We pamper dream cars, and they return the favor.

Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul instructed them in the care with which we must treat God’s most prized possession—a redeemed us. “Flee from sexual immorality,” he wrote, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”1 These believers were no longer the total wrecks of a broken-down world, but newly restored people of God, to be steered now by the Holy Spirit and to bring glory to the Father. Why should they even consider returning to their former ways of destruction and, in the process, dishonoring themselves and the One who purchased us at great price for Himself?

We don’t need to be reminded that sin, in whatever form it takes, is corrosive to our soul and damaging to those around us. Life is a great teacher, and it has taught us this lesson well, too often the hard way. Instead, let’s take time to remember Whose we are, the ultimate price He paid to make us His own, and the image—His image—to which He is steadily transforming us. We are no longer clunkers destined for demolition, we belong to God now, and we care for that which is His—namely ourselves.

“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19b, 20)

Father, you’ve redeemed me from destruction and destined me for your glory. I cannot fathom your love, but I gratefully accept it. May your truth and love guide me today, so that this life would glorify you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is redemption.

1 Corinthians 6:18, 19a