01-07-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 7, 2025
Have you ever experienced a quiet moment in your life when all the good things in daily existence seemed to come together, filling you with an overwhelming sense of blessing? I’ve had a few of those moments recently, and while the list of blessings is far too extensive to fit into an Etching, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Cypress Creek Christian Church community. My family is immensely blessed, and the church continues to take care of us. I think of the words from Paul’s Letter to the Church in Rome, “I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ” (Romans 15:29). Paul was preparing to visit Spain on his way to Rome, and though we have no specific Biblical evidence of the visit to Spain, there is a lot of Christian tradition, including Clement of Rome referencing Paul’s visit in some of his writings. Paul used the word ‘fullness’ to describe the blessings. The Greek word in the original text is: πληρώματι (plērōmati), the same word used to describe the baskets of leftovers when Jesus fed the 5000 and by Paul in Colossians 2 where we read, “All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. And you have been filled by him…” (Colossians 2:9-10). Paul appears to suggest that the fullness of God existed within Jesus (Trinitarian imagery), but then Paul’s conclusion is that such fullness dwells within us. For Paul, this fullness was truly chock-full of immeasurable gifts, including a death to our old ways and rebirth with Christ, an experience of God’s forgiveness, and a new understanding of “aliveness” that comes through God’s merciful kindness. This realization makes me understand that the source of my feeling of being blessed is not affected by external factors like the weather, my mood, mistreatment from others, or even my financial situation. It’s about allowing the Spirit to fill me, a genuine unmerited gift from God, and then choosing to live as someone who comprehends the privilege of being a recipient of such a gift.

I am blessed, and I know you are the ultimate source, Merciful and Generous God. Life may not be perfect, but knowledge of your immense generosity fills me with an overwhelming reason for feeling blessed. May my life be lived in such a way that I can help others experience the same love, compassion, and kindness that fills my life to capacity and beyond. Amen.