The Best Part of the Royal Wedding
Author: Dr. Richard M. Smith, Lead Pastor
June 17, 2018
Someone once said that Jesus began
the most revolutionary movement in human history. A movement grounded in the
unconditional love of God for the world - and a movement mandating people to
live that love, and in so doing to change not only their lives but the very
life of the world itself. I'm talking about power. Real power. Power to change
the world. (Bishop Michael Curry 5/20/18)
Bishop Curry speaking at the
wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle recognized the opportunity he had to
speak to the world. He could have stated the usual perfunctory statements said
at a wedding but he didn’t. He could have made some vague remarks about marital
love but he didn’t. Instead he talked
about a love that went beyond that couple, that day, and that moment. Instead
he talked about a love that comes from Jesus and through Jesus. He talked about
a love that Jesus started. Even more so, he clearly articulated the Love
Movement that Jesus started and helped us to imaginewhat the world would be
like if we connected with, loved through, and passed on such a revolutionary
movement of love.
When we were deciding about what to name our local church, it
wasn’t difficult at all. The Movement Church is what we decided on. It’s not fancy nor was everyone excited when
we made the name change; however, we recognized that the mission and message
was greater than the sound of a name. God placed in my heart years ago that
Jesus did not come to start a religion. He
wasn’t that interested in the routinized, ritualized, and meaningless
religiosity of his day. Nor did Jesus
come so that we could place ourselves in a political party and try to use our
politics and laws to change people’s lives instead of people’s hearts. Nor did
Jesus come so we would have our separate kingdoms called churches and be so
divided amongst ourselves that we can’t find ways to work together. “We create our different ways
of having church instead of actually being the church.” No, Jesus
came as Bishop Curry stated, “to start the most revolutionary movement in human
history.” That movement can be called
the Love Movement.
Our name, The Movement Church,
identifies our purpose, our connection, and our goal. We are simply people who
have been called by God to continue the love movement that Jesus started. We
have, not just the opportunity to be included in the movement, but also to
participate in it as well. We have the greatest power on earth to change the
world, and that’s the Love of Jesus Christ. We are solely focused on not just being
a part of His movement, but changing the world around us through His Movement.
We have decided to live in His love and express His love to others so that they
too will go through a revolutionary change necessary to connect to His
movement.
While I was not invited, nor were many
of you who are reading this post, to the Royal Wedding in May, we congratulate
the royal couple and pray God’s blessings over their union. However the best
part wasn’t their marriage, but the message of Jesus’s love that can change the
world. Therefore, congratulations to each one of us who have experienced God’s
love and have been invited to participate in His Movement. Let us continue the
love movement that Jesus started!
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