07/28/2026
Most who are reading this today are believers in Jesus Christ, and have received the Holy Spirit who has given them certain gifts. Yet our tendency as human beings is to take our personal relationship and our gifts, and to keep them privately secure between God and ourselves. Is this how we are meant to be in our faith? Do we have a relationship with God that is private, personal, and held securely to our chests? Have we taken the instruction of Jesus to pray in secret, and applied this to the entirety of our faith? If so we are missing the fullness of living a Christian faith.
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV
We are meant to maintain ourselves as a community of believers, and by way of example I want to share a story with you. There is a catholic college in Nashville, Tennessee that is run by the Dominican order, and it is called Aquinas College; several years ago, my daughter was enrolled there in the nursing program. By virtue of her attendance, we receive multiple mailings, and one of those was an announcement regarding a series of lectures that were being held there, and open to the public. One evening I picked up a current events mailer and as I read down through the list I found several topics that looked interesting, so I picked out a few that I felt I would like to attend and made note of their dates.
The lectures were in the evenings and each evening I passed right by the college on the way home from work, so I decided to attend one of the lectures as a trial. I chose a lecture by Dr. Peter Lillback on his new book “Sacred Fire” which dealt with the life of President George Washington, and centered on the question of whether he practiced Deism, or Christianity. I had no idea what to expect, but this was a lecture delivered by a Presbyterian Pastor, and a professor of Historical Theology, who would speak on the faith of an Anglican President, and who was going to deliver this presentation at a Catholic College... I found this to be an interesting mixture to say the least.
So, on the evening of his presentation I walked into the building where I was greeted warmly by a Dominican Nun dressed in flowing Black habit, and who politely directed me to the location where the lecture was to be held. I entered the room, which was filled with chairs, and made my way past a table of snacks to a seat near the aisle and back a few rows from the podium. The room began to fill modestly with people who spoke to each other as if they knew one another, then something happened that I will always remember... a group of Nuns of various ages entered the room and took seats right behind me. I know that there are many practicing Catholics who read my devotional every day but as a Protestant, and not being overly familiar with nuns, I had no idea if this was a good thing or not. Many of the stories I had heard from my Catholic friends centered on their school days and the fact that nuns were a stern lot who would rap your knuckles with a ruler if you misbehaved or spoke out in one of their classes!
I listened as the Nuns spoke to one another, and was immediately impressed by the love and kindness with which they did so. The younger sisters offered to fetch cookies and a drink for their older companions, and as we waited for the speaker to enter the room I thought to myself that even if the lecture was a bust... I had received what God had brought me there for. I was witnessing an extension of the community of Christian believers as they shared their faith intimately between themselves; Elderly, middle aged, and young, each lifting the others up in love and kindness. This was not the knuckle-rapping lot that I had been told of.
The lecture began, and it was amazingly informative, so I bought the book... all 847 pages of it. It is the most exhaustively complete and well researched book I have ever read on President George Washington, and the author did not disappoint in either delivery, or personality.
Following the lecture, I rose and greeted the nuns seated behind me. They were engaging and warm and felt like some of the more remarkable women of faith I have had the pleasure of meeting. The nuns were educators, so the conversation was immediately redirected towards me... did you like the lecture? How many children do you have? Do you have a student here? Please come to our other lectures! They gathered me into their Fellowship, and I knew this comfortable feeling intimately. This was the manifestation of Christ passing through the larger body of faith.
So, I have told you this story as a modern example of what Peter was speaking of in our opening scripture reading. We aren’t meant to sequester ourselves within our faith like a couple of young lovers on honeymoon, but to share it openly, and humbly with one another. To hold hands and stroll peacefully while chatting in the park of our faith like an elderly couple who have become founded in their relationship by years of love. This encouraged me in my own faith and demonstrated a robust image of true Christian lives.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 ESV
If we can’t open ourselves to each other, then how can we expect to do so with the unbelievers that surround us? Living openly in our faith, and sharing it with the greater body of Christendom prepares us for the great commission, and demonstrates what it means to dwell in Christ, and to have Him dwell in us...
“"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16 ESV
So, let’s ask ourselves, are we locked behind closed doors with our faith, or are we strolling with it openly in the park? Perhaps it’s time we looked at our relationships with God, Jesus, and others who, like us, are seeking their own salvation, and to see this through fresh eyes.
Can we look beyond the differences in our various liturgies and see the underpinnings of Jesus Christ there? Or are we similar to Peter in our fearful denial of Jesus in the lives of others who desire to walk with Him? Let’s think about this today.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13 ESV
Prayer:
Thank you Father for this relationship I have with you, and with your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for the secret times of prayer and conversation we have, but thank you also for the warm and open life I live with you every day. Thank you for walking with me in the many parks of my faith, and for the peace and joy I feel with you as I mingle together with the family of believers that surrounds me. Help me Holy Father to open my relationship with you to the world so that those around me might be encouraged, and long to experience a desire to walk with you too. Teach me Gracious Father to be comfortable as I hold your hand in the presence of various believers, and to openly display our closeness to those who have not met you yet. Use the privacy of my prayer closet as you instruct me regarding your will for me, and as a place where I can speak with you without flaunting my righteousness before others unduly. Let my reward be in heaven Father, but let a portion of it exist here to edify your children in their fears and trembling, and those who are yet to be drawn by you to your Son Jesus. Show me how to best do this Lord, show me the life of Jesus, and establish it as my model and open walk of faith. You are amazing in your goodness, and your love causes my faith to overflow this cup which is my body. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my god who walks beside me always, and never withdraws, whether in the presence of saints or sinners alike. Great are you my Unchanging and Ever Faithful God.
“No one can come to me [Jesus] unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:44 ESV
Together let’s worship and say… Amen, Amen, Amen!
Rich Forbes