The Beauty of Salvation (6)
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” John 21.21, 22
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3.18
I have no doubt that we all would agree with this one thing: We who have been saved by Jesus ought to live like Jesus. He commanded us, like He did Peter, to follow Him, to walk in His steps. By His Word and Spirit, He is transforming us to be more like Him day by day. We have been created in Christ Jesus to live as He did, in good works that spread the grace of God to more and more people (Eph. 2.10; 2 Cor. 4.15).
We know this is true. But do we know what it means? What living like Jesus entails? Do we think with the mind of Christ about how our day with Him should look, who will be affected by us, in what ways, to what extent?
Our salvation must be lived one step, one choice, one action, and one work at a time; and it can help us to live for Jesus in this way by having a clearer sense of the far horizon toward which we are living in Him.
Writing about the miracles of Jesus, David Bentley Hart observes, “These are not acts that manipulate or negate the order of creation in order to achieve an astounding effect; in them the goodness of creation is reaffirmed, its peace is restored; they repeat God’s gift of creation by imparting joy in the good things of the world—food and wine, fellowship and rejoicing, life and vision and health—to those in whom such joy is lacking.” All the miracles of Jesus reorient “all the signs of creation toward the everlasting sign of God who walks among them.”
God is with us. His goodness is affirmed. His joy is dispersed. Health and wellbeing and peace and goodness are restored. Immanuel is at work in and through those He has saved and called to live for Him. He is making all things new.
If such were our vision of salvation, we might pray harder, take more initiatives, be more careful, and make the most of every opportunity, every word and deed, to bring Jesus to the people around us.
Being disciples and making disciples
We cannot make disciples if we don’t know what we’re trying to achieve. How shall we think about disciples and discipleship, except as God presents these in His Word? This is Dr. Mike McQueen’s starting-point for disciple-making. Listen in to my conversations with Mike by clicking the tool bar or the link at the top of this issue of Pastor to Pastor.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are examining the values that such an economy requires. Our Read Moore podcast begins working through our book, Joy to Your World! In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we continue our study of Coemgen of Glendalough. And in our Scriptorium column we are examining the full armor of God from Ephesians 6. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: Our latest free PDF is the book, Let God Be True. How do we reason like Paul did with people who do not value reason? Let God Be True can help. Click here for your free copy. You can also order my new book of poems, Never Too Late, issued by Wipf and Stock’s Resources imprint. Click here.
Resources for Shepherds: Mike Slay’s Saturday DEEP edition is spot on about how to share the Gospel without using threats or intimidation. His “Larry King Live” is Mike at his best.
Coming in November: We will be offering a resource for measuring your church, in a wide variety of facets, against the church in the New Testament and the following couple of centuries. This resource is for anyone who wants to help their church realize its full potential as a sign and outpost of the Kingdom of God. This is part of our ReThinking Church Project. Watch this space for more news about this effort.
From the Celtic Revival
Coemgen (498-618)
“Now it is pleasant to my heart,
I give thanks therefore to God,
My going to the glen is a good fortress,
And only my angel will be at my disposal.”
He was fleeing from the world,
Fear of its peril possessed him;
He would have preferred, had it not been wrong,
To go from it forthwith to heaven.
– The Monk Solomon Life of Coemgen
One of the keys to the widespread impact of the Celtic Revival was the ascetic devotion and purity of life of those who preached Christ to the world. Like Coemgen, they showed by their life where their true allegiance lay, and young people all over Europe responded to their challenge. We need such world-fleeing leaders today.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
Our bookstore includes a variety of free resources to help you understand and benefit from these great forgotten saints. Our book, The Celtic Revival: A Brief Introduction, provides an overview of the period, while Living to Rule gives us a look inside the disciplined life of Irish monks and missionaries. Theology of the Celtic Revival: Foundations, will ease your mind about any unorthodox views among the leaders of this movement. And our book, Lives of Irish Saints will introduce you to some of the less well-known men of that period. All these are free at our bookstore, and you can share them with everyone you like.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this issue of Pastor to Pastor helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Support for Pastor to Pastor comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
