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Our Place in the Legacy Line

It is mind-boggling. Perhaps you’ve heard the notion that our bodies are completely new every seven to ten years, the result of cellular replication—new cells replacing dead ones. Actually, this is not entirely true, for, while many types of cells have a lifespan of only days, months or a few years, some remain pretty much the same throughout life. On the whole, however, the vast majority of these tiniest units of living matter live much shorter lives than we do, each one creating its own replacement before it dies. Though generations of cells come and go during our natural lifetime, our bodies are still our bodies; we remain who we are. We are constantly different, yet always the same.

We often think of the collection of Christ-followers as a “body,” for as Paul taught, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”1 And though we are united in Christ, each of us has our own role. Paul, again: “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”2 The more we mature in the faith, the more we realize that the Christian life is much more “we” than “me.” Yet there is another dimension to Christ’s church on earth, a generational one. We are born into Him by faith, and we pass on from this life in faith. We come and we go—each generation replicating into the next—yet the body of Christ on earth continues to be what it has always been and to do what it has always done. It is different, yet the same. So we take this courage from our forebears in these fruitful years, knowing we will soon join their ranks . . .

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.3

Then may this be our legacy, too, for the new “cells” who take our place, each in grace continuing the work of Christ. For though His body on earth is constantly changing, it remains the same, for He is its head,4 and He is the same yesterday and today and forever.5

Father, thank you for including us in the body of Christ. Inspire us through those who came before us, and through us, inspire those who follow. In Christ we live, and in Him we pray. Amen.

1 1 Corinthians 12:27-28
2 Romans 12:4-5
3 Hebrews 12:1-3
4 Colossians 1:18
5 Hebrews 13:8

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Observations from a Teenage Jerk

Did I ever tell you I was a teenage jerk? It’s true. For several summers during those youthful years, I worked at a local establishment, Proffitt’s Drive-In (“Home of the Goldenburger”). My job was to pour malts, shakes, and soft drinks, and to place them on trays destined to hang from customer car windows. One day, I saw a form listing my actual job title: it read, “soda jerk.” (It’s a thing; you can Google it.) Now, many had been called “jerk” before, but I had found documentation to prove it—I was official! Like so many summer gigs, soda jerk was a mild form of what we might call, “school appreciation jobs”—laborious or routine tasks that incentivize young people to continue their education. These are the realities that fix our focus on the pursuit of something better.

Sometimes in life’s “school of hard knocks,” we find ourselves wandering into much harsher realities, as when tuning in to the wrong influencers, for instance. “Walk with the wise and become wise,” warned Solomon, “for a companion of fools suffers harm.” 1 And it’s not as though we need any help from “fools,” for we’re quite capable of making short-sighted decisions on our own. Jesus illustrated this well in His masterful short story of a son who took an early inheritance distribution from his father and immediately squandered it on lavish living. 2 With nothing left of his fortune, the son hired himself out as a farm hand, feeding swine, a “school appreciation job” for the ages. Then when this happens to us—when we begin to reap the consequences of our lesser actions or words—we have another choice to make. On one hand, we can bitterly blame God for the results of our free-will decisions, for as Solomon observed, “People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.” 3 Or like the young man in Jesus’ story, we can “come to our senses” and return to the Father who longingly watches and lovingly waits for us.

The apostle Paul taught us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” 4 This is one more gift of grace—making even our harsh realities work for our favor, and fixing our focus on the pursuit of something better: God himself.

Father, fill us with wisdom, that we would align ourselves with Your Word and submit ourselves entirely to You. Grace us to hear the voice of Your Spirit and to follow His lead today. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Proverbs 13:20
2 Read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32.
3 Proverbs 19:3 NLT
4 Romans 8:28

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Treasure in Plain View

It was a day-long retreat inside the prison, and seated at our table were seven of us—six residents and me—amid a room of 125. The focus of the day was forgiveness and restoration, an always welcome topic and particularly so where the environment itself reminds us daily of our need for both. As we took turns sharing, a remarkable commonality emerged—the ripple effect of a transformed life. One man had asked forgiveness from his son for the man’s poor life choices; the son refused at first, but seeing over a period of several years a true change in his father, he not only forgave him, but became a believer, as well. Another shared a similar experience with his ex-wife with whom he remains friends today: it took years for her to accept the change in him, and but seeing his consistent growth and transformation, she now finds herself contemplating the gospel for her own life. Still another spoke of those who recognized in him a humility where arrogance once dominated. None of these men had set out to change anyone; rather it was God who worked through their testimonies of forgiveness and the witness of their transformed lives. Moreover, it took time for others to accept the forgiveness, restoration, and change in once-hardened souls.

We can take courage from these men, for sometimes we question whether our lives make a Kingdom difference at all. And at times our Christian witness seems to us an overwhelming burden to carry alone. Yet even our witness is God’s work in and through us, for as Paul explained to the early church, God “made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”1 And God has willed to display this glory through an undeserving yet much loved us, for in Paul’s words, God has placed His “treasure in jars of clay.”2 Such wisdom! And how humbling.

Then may we “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness,”3 that God would shine through us and be glorified before others, for this “pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”4 For people search for God, and He is most clearly visible in lives transformed—yours and mine. It may take time, but His work will be done through us. He will see to it. We can rest in this.

Father, how beautiful and how humbling that You would advance Your Kingdom through Your people. Shine in our hearts, that others would see You glorified through Your treasure in us, your jars of clay. Amen.

1 2 Corinthians 4:6
2 2 Corinthians 4:7
3 1 Timothy 2:2
4 1 Timothy 2:3-4