Our devotion is by LUNGILE MPETSHENI who is our newly appointed denominational General Secretary.
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We write to you about the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it, and our hands have touched it. 2 When this life became visible, we saw it; so we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was the Father and was made known to us. 3 What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1John1:1-3
The vision of the UPCSA is "To be a reconciled community of Christians exercising a prophetic witness to Christ." John captures this vision lucidly. We are called to join in the fellowship and to tell (witness) about the Word of life and Eternal life.
John reiterated what he presented in his gospel that in the Word that became flesh there was life and that the Word existed from the very beginning. In the human form, the Word became visible and tangible. The human senses were activated, so as to qualify the claim that the Word became flesh. This reinforces the call for faith and reason to work together towards a holistic and balanced Christian life. We need to see and feel the presence of Christ among us.
In a situation of chaos, disorder and confusion, there is need for Christianity that brings life to the people. Spiritual death results in the corrosion of the moral fibre in our society. We succumb to the 'prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience'(Eph2:1-4). Human beings have hardened their hearts and are in constant search of that which is carnal. The search of eternal life has been substituted by the search for prosperity and materialism. The testimony of those that have seen this "life that became visible" is more often than not rendered suspect and despised.
Those that inherit the eternal life become 'a reconciled community of Christians'. We join in the fellowship (koinonia) with the Father and the Son. We understand what Jesus means when he says in John 17 that he and the Father are one; therefore praying that we should also be one. The call to fellowship implies closing the gap between people and the destruction of the wall that separates us. The rich and the poor, the oppressor and the oppressed, the powerful and the powerless, women and men, young and old are brought together to the unity of the Father and the Son.
Christianity is an answer to our society. The reconciled community of Christians should 'exercise a prophetic witness to Christ'. John says we write about him, we have seen, we have looked upon him and touched him. Therefore, we TELL/BEAR WITNESS/DECLARE, so that many may come into the fellowship. Christ should be at the centre of the Church life, work and proclamation. The prophetic messages should be healing and liberating to both the rich and poor, oppressor and oppressed.
I urge all Christians not to prophesy anything negative about themselves as a reconciled community (eg "our church has no future"; "I don't know which direction this church goes"; "I don't even know why I go to church"). Let us instead stand together, isolate and neutralise the elements that destroy our hard earned fellowship. Ours is to TELL/BEAR WITNESS/DECLARE 'the Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning'. The world will then be a better place for all.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
