Page 124 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 23
P. 124

the body of Christ with Jesus as its head, but then it  but thank you also that I don't have to reach a state
        is also a rela�onal unit in love.                      where I would finally deserve your acceptance.”
        My personal second conversion followed immedia-        Isn't that inspiring, isn't that the place where I too
        tely on the first. A�er I was converted in a prayer    can be who I am?
        group in 1978, the following happened a few weeks      I rejoice in being together with others, especially in
        later: During a �me of worship, when we were all       the challenge of our weakness and diversity - even
        usually completely focused on God, I let my gaze       if this will always cause me difficul�es individually -
        wander through the group - and was startled. My        because it is something special, because it expres-
        impression was: “All old women.” (Although there       ses grace for me that everyone, including me, has
        were also some younger ones and even the odd           become a child of God.
        man).                                                  The love between brothers and sisters is something
        My next thought was: “I must be in the wrong           very special and hopefully can be felt in every con-
        place.” I began to compare the people present with     grega�on. But what about unity?
        the friends I had previously socialized with. But it   Here, too, I have learned to rethink (= conversion).
        wasn't long before I knew, deep down, that these       Whereas at the beginning unity meant uniformity
        “old” women were now allowed to be closer to me        for me, in the sense of thinking the same, believing
        than all the other younger and more a�rac�ve peo-      the same, confessing the same, doing the same, I
        ple. They were my new siblings. Not because they       now tend more towards an understanding of unity
        shared my interests or had studied with me, but be-    in diversity: the church is a symphony of different
        cause, like me, they belonged to Jesus Christ.         instruments that, with the help of the Holy Spirit,
        Over the decades, I have reminded myself of this       manage to play a song together to the glory of God.
        decision again and again when I was dissa�sfied        The divisive factor has lost its terror, the other per-
        with how church felt and when everyday church life     son becomes an interes�ng other that I first want
        became tough. I belong, I want to belong, I am en-     to get to know and understand. That connects, that
        �tled to belong.                                       creates unity.
        The Word of God reveals the church to us as some-      Since the second conversion always recognizes the
        thing that points beyond us humans, into eternity,     “ver�cal” in this “horizontal” level of vision, that we
        as an important building block of his kingdom. She     are the body of Christ, that Jesus Christ is our head,
        is the bride of Christ! She gets her splendor mainly   He helps us to overcome what divides us.
        from the head, as which Jesus described himself.
        The presence of God is the decisive factor! Where      Taking off one’s own glasses of faith
        two or three are gathered together, Jesus Christ is    Each of us wears worldview glasses, we have to ad-
        among us (Ma�hew 18:20), that is where we are          mit that to ourselves at some point: the glasses of
        the church.                                            our culture, our genera�on, our educa�on ... What
        But what about love, in concrete terms, love for       I believe is also my subjec�ve world of faith, shaped
        everyone in my local church and from them to me?       by my family, my community and my �me. It is the
        Another part of this second conversion is to reco-     same for everyone. I have to ask myself what �nt
        gnize - by reversing our standards - how great every   my glasses of faith have.
        local church is! For it represents an incomparable     Within my congrega�on, by and large, the shades
        collec�on of imperfect people.                         match, so that the illusion could arise that the way
        Incomparable: I believe that there is no other orga-   we see our faith, God, the Bible and many other
        niza�on like it, that is so open to everyone, whether  things is absolutely correct. But can we dismiss the
        rich or poor, from the most diverse educa�onal and     faith of all Chris�ans from other denomina�ons or
        social backgrounds, healthy or sick, old or young,     churches? Only a few sectarian groups do this offi-
        that there is no similar organiza�on that would en-    cially, but the thought is there for others too. Cracks
        dure this without immediately excluding some           are running through the body of Christ.
        (that we also do this is part of the pain).            We s�ll differen�ate between those close to us,
        Not perfect: what characterizes us is not perfor-      other Chris�ans and Chris�ans with whom we have
        mance, but grace, that everyone is accepted as         no contact and whose world is foreign to us, and
        they are. “Thank you, Lord, that I am accepted as I    about whom we would probably also cri�cize many
        am, and thank you that you don't leave me as I am,     things.


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