Corona Devo 1112

Have you seen the sayings on t-shirts, caps, kitchen towels, or coffee mugs that are pertaining to "my kind of people"?

Dog people are my kind of people.

Cat people are my kind of people.

Baseball people are my kind of people.

Kind people are my kind of people.

We had some new friends over for dinner last night.  I say "new" friends, but...(except for the husband, who I had met once at a fundraiser last year), they were actually strangers.  Our family had not ever met the wife or their two sons, ages 3 and 1. 

And while the (Merriam Webster) dictionary would define a stranger as a person or thing that is unknown or with whom one is unacquainted, even before I met this family...I felt that I knew them.  

How?

Why?

Because they are Jesus people.

There are many (many!) kinds of people, but Jesus people are my kind of people.  

Have you ever noticed or experienced the bond that Believers share because of our common faith in the Lord?  

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, (20) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (21) In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. (22) And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  ~Ephesians 2:19-22

Yes!! This is exactly what I mean, and this is what I felt last night as we connected with strangers who (from the moment they walked in)...were not strangers...but friends and fellow citizens, because they were God's people and also members of his household.  

Our daily friendships-in-Christ (physical, across-the-miles, online, via-prayer, and through this devotional) are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.   

The bond we share with others who love the Lord is the same beautiful, inexplicable, comfortable bond that Believers before us have enjoyed...going all the way back to the apostles and prophets.  

Jesus people are my kind of people.

If Christ Jesus himself (is) the chief cornerstone, then our building blocks as Believers will always fit together nicely.  Sometimes we may need to "figure out" our arrangement in connecting with others, but if Christ Jesus himself (is) the chief cornerstone...then everything else pales in importance, because we are giving HIM the foundational place-of-honor.  And when Christ is first, our hearts can't-help-but-follow in humility, which (surprisingly) provides an unparalled strength among those in God's family.  We all (the whole building) are joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord (21).

Yep...that's exactly what happened over supper, and ping pong, and Hot Wheels cars races last night.   And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  ~Ephesians 2:19-22

We connected (in him you...are being built together), which is God's unique and amazing plan for the members of His family (which is what we all are!)  

There needn't be any façade or false-fronts with other followers-of-Christ because it's simply not necessary.  Who we are in Christ is exactly who He made us to be, and how we got here undoubtedly (whether we are willing to admit it or not) leaves a trail of sin, shame, and redemption...because that is the story of every sinner who gets saved.  

But if we will realize our lack, God will fill us with His abundance.  There should be no pride, but only gratitude.  And when we are grateful because we're forgiven, we can cease competing with others for glory, and give it all to God.  

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  ~Galatians 2:20

~~~

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, (4) not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  (5) In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus...  ~Philippians 2:3-5

~~~

I've known it before, but I realized it all over again last night: Jesus people are my kind of people.

I have felt it across the world in Australia at church with people who had little in common with me...except faith: Jesus people are my kind of people.

I have felt it in a coffee shop in my hometown with a man sharing his faith through conversation and daily texted Bible verses: Jesus people are my kind of people.

I have felt in with my neighbors, in support, prayer, in their showing-up in emergencies: Jesus people are my kind of people.

I have felt it at a recent funeral when arbitrarily introduced to a pastor and his wife, and then being absorbed in conversation with them as if we had grown up in the same town: Jesus people are my kind of people.

I have felt it at our garage sale, in conversations (and friendships!) that started with a question about price and ended with the answer of Jesus paying-our-price: Jesus people are my kind of people.

I feel it in the unseen, unspoken, invisible friendship that we have--you and I.  Connected through God's Spirit, God's Word, and God's plan for His Word to be read, shared, and understood by everyone willing to receive it...and then live it.  I am so very blessed to feel it with you: Jesus people are my kind of people.

Those who love their fellow Believers live in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.  ~I John 2:10

Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus.   ~Philippians 4:21

~~~

If we know the Lord...we're not foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household (Ephesians 2:19).

Jesus people are my kind of people, and that means you!

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com