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This post taken from our church plant in Colorado Springs, view their website at ourelementcs.org

“How’d you become king?  I didn’t vote for ya.” said the filthy peasant woman Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The answer of course is found in the annals English lore, which reveal that Arthur became King of the Britains when the Lady of the Lake distributed him a sword from the pond she was lying in.  If indeed strange women lying in ponds were a basis for a system of government then, Saga Vanecek an 8-year-old girl from Sweden would be Queen.

Saga, like King Arthur, pulled a sword from a lake earlier this month.  Google it. In fact, she pulled a corroded rust encased 33-inch Viking sword from the mid 500’s AD from a lake.  Not a bad find at all.  And as it happens, a great illustration for my blog!

This week Element Colorado Springs embarks on our fall series in the book of First Peter called, Identity.  We chose this title because Peter’s epistle has so much to teach believers about who God says we are as Christ followers.  What could a rusty Viking Sword possibly teach us about who we are as believers?

1 Peter 1:3-7 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Do you see the security described in these verses?  Peter describes the new-life of a believer as permanent and durable, “an inheritance…imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”  Not only that but Peter says it is God that is guarding that inheritance in heaven.  I can only speak for myself, but as I read those verses my heart sinks a little when I see the words, “you have been grieved by various trials.”  I don’t want to go through trials, nor do I want my loved ones to experience trials.  I suspect you don’t either.

Perhaps it is the weakness of our sinful flesh that we can read such amazing promises from God and still focus on something negative.   Let’s try to walk in God’s shoes for a moment.  Peter says, “if necessary you have been grieved by trials.” and, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith...”  will reveal glory and honor when Christ returns.  The cynic would read this incorrectly and say, God tests us to see if we are worthy.  That statement is as wrong as it is blasphemous.  Peter’s words acknowledge that in our sinful fallen world trials come and the trials come reveal (in an individual) their true nature.  In essence, the inferno burns away that which is impermanent and leaves behind that which cannot be consumed by the fire.  God has made you indestructible.

Saga’s sword was made by a master craftsman.  His intent was likely not that the sword would endure for 1,500 years, but durability was the result of his careful work.  You were made for a purpose as well, to love and serve God.  God, as The Master Craftsman has made for you an indestructible inheritance which will be revealed in your indestructible body, “more precious than gold.”  when Jesus returns.

This Viking sword was an instrument of war and tumult.  When it was lost in a lake over a millennium ago it was subject to one of the harshest winter environments on the planet.  This environment marred and encased its surface in rust and mud till the sword underneath was unrecognizable.  Strangely though, it was these harsh conditions that preserved the sword for 1,500 years.  Then when the weather and level of the lake were just right, one little girl with a keen eye recognized something precious when she saw it. 

Peter is not saying that, God tests us to see if we are worthy.  He is saying, that trials will come and God gives us the strength to endure them.  As trials come they also pass.  Once trials pass, God’s master work in our lives is revealed, precious and indestructible.  A lot can be learned from a weathered old sword.  Its beauty is no longer outward or obvious, but to the one who truly knows, it is perfect.  Saga’s sword my not seem beautiful or wonderful, but to the people of Sweden, its priceless.   Your Father in heaven has made as a new beautiful indestructible creation with a living hope in Jesus Christ. That is your Identity.

I have a gift for being misunderstood. It started back when I was little kid, and as a result, I was always getting in trouble or hurting people’s feelings, because I couldn’t communicate what I was trying to say. This gift brought on some tears for family members that thought I was insensitive, but it also brought more tears to myself as I got in trouble…a lot.

This aspect of my personality has apparently not changed as I have gotten older…it just gets worse as I encounter more individuals and speak to a crowd on a fairly regular basis. On one hand, I would hope that people who know me would understand what I am trying to say, but all too often, that doesn’t happen and my words are still received negatively. Occasionally, I find a blog post (like this one) can serve as some clarification. 

We are currently doing a series through Tim Keller’s book The Reason for God. Last week’s message was about injustice (you can listen to it here). The central premise of my message was that when we (humanity) approach anything with an us versus them mentality, when we view ourselves as “better than” others, it will lead to division and, ultimately, to injustice. When we elevate any cause above Jesus, no matter how great that cause may be, it will, at its furthest extent, lead to division and not unity. We will only become unified by centering our lives around Christ. Centering our lives around Jesus first doesn’t mean there can’t be disagreements on topics—political or otherwise; it simply means that with Christ as our center, we can actually have varying opinions while still loving one another like family.

After service last Sunday, a friend of mine, who I have known for a long time, came up and said he disagreed with what I said. I was kind of taken aback, because once again, I thought I was clear and he thought I wasn’t. He said that I was implying that we do not need to take a stand against injustice or evil. He said my message spoke of becoming complacent and letting everyone do whatever they wanted.

Let me clarify…as believers, we are meant to stand against injustice and evil. I think the problem comes when we view the evil in others as a means by which we compare ourselves to say that we are “better than” someone else (in a created sense). 2 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV) We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We do not get to compare ourselves to others—that leads to inappropriate judgements…if we compare ourselves to anyone, it should be Jesus. This leads to humbleness, because we are nowhere near as good as Him.

God calls us to be agents and ambassadors of His Kingdom (not ours) in this world. That means there will be many times where we must take a stand that may be unpopular in any given cultural context…but I think we will only be able to take that stand in graceful ways when we first understand that all of humanity needs to know the relationship-restoring love of Christ. I think our goal, while standing against evil, should always be with an eye to others’ salvation.

Take a bully, for example…

We should stand up for the weak around us and stop the bully from hurting others…yet, in the midst of stopping the bully, we should do our best to speak of the Gospel, so that he or she would have a change in heart. We should pray that our heart’s desire is for the bully to know Jesus and become someone who stands up for the right things, who ceases to be a perpetrator of evil. We can pray this even if we have to arm-bar him off someone else that needs our help. In the end, I think that those who were once enemies of the cross, which is all of us, can best be a testimony to God’s grace and goodness by changed hearts and lives.

To be clear, I am not saying that I think that something like war is never justifiable; there are times where I believe it is imperative for those with power to protect the weak. But I do firmly also believe that hope for someone’s salvation is a much better call for the health of our hearts than hope for someone’s destruction.

We are excited to announce a church plant in Colorado Springs led by Jonathan & Jennifer Whitaker!

One of our core desires here at Element has been to plant churches where needed. It’s in our mission statement: To Glorify God by teaching and living out the Scriptures, transforming community into Gospel Community, and planting churches.

We have waited to see where God leads us in a church planting endeavor, and it seems the first place He is leading us to is Colorado Springs. He has brought together a scruffy bunch of previous Element members and one Elder who found themselves in CS. They have each identified a need for a church that strives to form gospel-community, something they feel is missing for a lot of airmen in the area.

Jonathan feels God has been preparing him for this. At Element he received a lot of foundational ministry experience, but was restationed to the D.C. area, where they were able to practice living missional servant lives. From there they went to England where God lead them to pastor a small church and bring it back from the brink of closing its doors. Jonathan has had several experiences within and leading ministry, now he has a clear vision to plant a home church; a church of Gospel Communities, in Colorado.

Check out their website at ourelementcs.org