A Nation in Need of ‘Crossing Over’

Joshua 3:14-4:7

John 9:1-12, 35-38

In my country I am blessed with the freedom to worship as I choose. But I also know that with freedom can come complacency, and with complacency can come apathy. It costs me nothing to say I am a Christian; does that make my confession worthless? It could if I do nothing with it. It is times like these when the church as the body of Christ – “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, God’s own people,” as 1 Peter 2:10 tells us – must be willing to “cross over” and become what God has called it to be. “While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan” (Joshua 3:17). The significance of this account may not be that the waters parted for the people or that the ark was held by the priests, the significance may well come in the fact that the people finally entered the land to which God had been leading them. They “crossed over” into a new relationship with the Creator.

God’s call reverberates throughout the world and rests on those whom God chooses. It is the church, then, with all of its diversity and all of its variations, that faces the challenge of living the way God intends. What we do, what we say, how we act and react: these are the factors that make our faith visible, that give truth to our confession. John tells us that when Jesus introduced himself to the man he had healed from blindness the man said, “‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him” (John 9:38). How can others come to know the Lord? When we as the body of Christ “cross over” to what God intends, when we leave behind our old lives and begin to live out our calling day after day, setting aside our partisan behavior, letting go of our will and embracing the will of God.

The church as the body of Christ bears a great responsibility in the world, and it is an honor to stand with all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord. But are we willing to make a costly decision? Are we willing to “cross over” and become what God wants us to be?

Prayer: Lord, lead your church toward your coming reign and fill us again with your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.