Riches, Strength and Beauty

"You were unacceptable before God and other people.
Now you are acceptable before God,
     though you might be unacceptable before others.

Is that Okay with you?"

So Welch begins this next chapter and I really like the way it makes me reflect on what God has done for me, which I can't get from other people.  In this chapter Welch encourages us to see with the eyes of faith, which means we see clearly and we see more, and therefore we will discover things that are not necessarily as they seem (p. 247).

Welch tells us to remember that we have been joined to Christ by faith (what is His is now ours), we have responded to His invitation to a meal literally in the Lord's Supper, power has come, the unclean are holy, reality is coming into view and we are becoming comfortable in a new world that may be opposite to what we expected.  Our relationship with God is being righted although some of our relationships with people can still feel upside down.

Let's now look at the Honour we have before God:

Poor to Rich - the early church recognized how rich they were in Christ (2 Cor 6:10; 1 Cor 4:8; Eph 1:18; 2 Cor 9:11) so it was marked with generosity, giving beyond what they could afford because they loved others.  We could also show this type of generosity as a way to express our liberation from shame, nothingness, and worthlessness Welch encourages.

Slavery to royalty - the early church also recognized the transition from slave to free and Paul told actual slaves who turned to Christ to stay as they were (1 Cor 7:20-23) because he wanted them to recognize a deeper truth --> we have freedom in Christ, as royal offspring, that can't be taken from us regardless of how people might treat us!!!  Welch urges us to talk about that, and let our royalty be noticed.

Weak to strong - Weak is the new strong (2 Cor 13:4) because Christ was crucified in weakness.  Anything that makes us look/be weak on this earth actually makes us strong in Christ.  When we are weak and dependent on God, then we are strong (2 Cor 12:10).

Foolish to wise - wise people carry a certain prestige, and when we fear the Lord, we are wise (Prov 1:7).  Welch tells us that when we fear something we are controlled by it, so to fear the Lord means we are controlled by Him.

Ugly to beautiful - beauty has always been praised but have you ever thought of Jesus' physical appearance?  Welch points us to Isaiah 53:2, "He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him."  If Jesus didn't have a beautiful physical appearance, we shouldn't expect one either.  Instead the Kingdom of God values things that last --> inner beauty of worth, strength, dignity, blessed (1 Tim 4:8; Prov 31; 1 Pet 3:3-4).  These values come as we learn the character of God and imitate Him.  Let's reflect His beautiful glory!

Useless to Missional - our transformation includes a job, a purposeful, meaningful life.  Remember Jesus' walk along the beach with Peter where Jesus told him three times "Feed my sheep"?  Welch says Scripture is clear: if we have come to Christ, we are chosen.  God chooses the unworthy and He chose us for a purpose (John 15:16).  God has transformed us so that we must bear fruit and don't ever believe that your gifts come from the bottom of the barrel (1 Cor 12:21-25)!!  Open your eyes and see how you can practice ways to love others (2 Cor 5:14-15).  We need to talk about Christ in our daily life and this goal is bigger than our own personal welfare.

Shame to Honour - God has transformed us --> naked to clothed; unclean to holy; outcast to beloved!!!  Why did/does God do this?  So that we can enjoy Him and He us!!!  It gives God PLEASURE to transform us.

However Welch also warns us that even as we grow ever higher before the Lord, we will get lower before people.  If we come to Jesus to be more popular with people, DON'T.  Remember we are associating with an executed criminal of a despised race (p. 257).  The cross is still foolish to those who do not believe.  Welch finishes by saying following Christ means "volunteering to walk a path that looks shameful to the world, but that explodes with glory and honour when we walk it with Him (1 Pet 2:6).