Rooted in Christ, Called to the Future
After 25 years in LCMC, what are your hopes for LCMC’s future?
I have been a part of LCMC for 23 years, and what a ride it has been! LCMC, for me, was a safety net when my predecessor church body left me. That may still be true for some, but LCMC is so much more.
Philippians 1:6 reminds us of God’s good work in us. God is not finished but will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. In my 43 years as a pastor, I’ve seen many things come to an end, but that also means there are new beginnings. None of us know how God will use LCMC in the future, just as we don’t know how God will use each one of us. We do know with complete certainty that God goes before us and is with us. He has a plan and asks us to obediently follow.
During times of chaos and confusion–of which there is no shortage nowadays–we can become weary. When we take our eyes off Jesus and focus on the world, we lose hope. We begin to wonder who we can trust or who’s telling the truth.
The prophet Isaiah gently turns our focus back to where it should be on the Lord our God. “Those who hope in the LORD,” he writes, “will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint (40:31). That’s the future of LCMC! We will be renewed and strengthened. We will not grow weary or become faint.
God promises to rejuvenate our fortitude so that we can keep moving forward into the future. Even with shaky steps and anxious hearts, we trust that God has us, and the future, in his hand.God’s presence is like a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, faithfully leading us on, just like He led the Israelites to an unknown destination and into an uncertain future. Deuteronomy 31:8 says that God, “goes before [us] and will be with [us]. He will never leave [us] nor forsake [us].”
God knows the past, present, and future. He knows “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:20). All of God is in this moment. But for what purpose? What’s Jesus trying to do in our lives today?
C. S. Lewis wrote, “The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ…. If churches are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose.”
God our Father seeks for us to be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29) and sent his Spirit to indwell us (1 Corinthians 3:16) so that Christ can be “formed” in us (Galatians 4:19). The “fruit” he manifests is the character of Christ operating in and through our lives (Galatians 5:22–23).
Jesus wants us to continue his earthly ministry. In this way, the more we become like Jesus, the more this miraculous transformation in our lives prepares us to lead others to him. LCMC must continue to lead others to do the same. We become like Christ as we help others become like Christ. Only then do we align our lives with the purpose of the one who came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
So, how can you and I partner with Christ to become more like him?
We must be constant in prayer, studying God’s Word, and worshipping the One true God. These are vital channels of grace. It is also why the enemy tempts us to separate Sunday from Monday and religion from the real world. The more we practice the presence of Jesus, the more we become the presence of Jesus to others (cf. Luke 6:40).
The Lord our God is the hope for the world and LCMC is a means by which that hope can be proclaimed. He will transform us into tireless cultivators of the seed of the Gospel. “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you [LCMC], will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6). We lift high the cross and the love of God proclaim[1]!
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
1. Kitchin, George. "Lift High the Cross" George Kitchin 1887 revised 1916 by Michael Newbolt; published 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, Augsburg Fortress publishing.
Share this post
Click Here For Content Archives