Ephesians 2:19-21
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
“Why aren’t you miserable?” I was asked that during a particularly miserable day where I worked at the time as a truck driver. The other driver and I were waiting an inordinately long time for our deliveries to be processed, destroying any hope of getting done on time. I showed him my pocket Bible. I looked like a stranger to him. Paul gave this message to the Ephesian church while imprisoned and while similar fates awaited the believers there. He tried to fortify their faith with the fact that they should not expect to fit into the world’s profile because they have a different citizenship, that of heaven.
Come to Cape Community Church tomorrow as we join together to worship, followed by a wedding ceremony in which two believers join together in the house of the Lord. People may have asked the Ephesian Christians why they were not terrified or miserable. They could show them their passport, the gospel. Sadly, misery and mean spiritedness is rampant in the world today, exacerbated by social media. In all this, an ancient letter of someone observing Christians in action, can still ring true today.
“They are mocked and bless in return.”
May people find us strange and alien and ask to join together.
Dear Lord, you are the reason we join together in worship. May we look different to people and may they ask how. May we answer, “In Jesus’ name”. Amen.