Once upon a time the apostle Paul planted a church in the city of Thessalonica. Before the new church became established, however, Paul was forced to leave the city because of great hostility from people who were not receptive to the Gospel. In time Paul heard what was going on in the life of the new church, and He was thrilled.

They had a reputation. They were known for their “work of faith,” their “labor of love,” and “the steadfastness of hope” they had in “our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thes. 1:3). They had received the Gospel “in much tribulation” but they received it “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (I Thes. 1:6). God had taken hold of that church and in spite of it’s rough beginning “the word of the Lord … sounded forth from them” (I Thes. 1:8). Theirs is a remarkable story of God and of an open and faithful people who allowed God to be God in their midst.

Every church has it’s own story and not every issue is repeatable in other situations. Yet, for every local church to be faithful to what God is calling forth in it, one thing must be present; that church must be willing to let God be God in the midst her people. This is non-negotiable. If this isn’t happening then that church isn’t really a church.

A key question for every local congregation might just be, “What does it mean in our Faith community for God to be God here?” From there a congregation might go in many different directions.; but, until God is allowed to be God in the midst, every thing else will be an exercise in futility.

We are citizens of many relationships: family, work, school, community, state, country. There is a sense in which we have loyalty to all these relationship, a loyalty that issues into responsibility and duty.

There is a concern, however. In the end we followers of Jesus are citizens of only one relationship. The Bible says, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). All other citizenships are defined by this one citizenship.

It is our relationship with God in Christ that defines who we are. It is God who holds ultimate authority in our lives, an authority that defines how we relate in all other relationships.

This is a huge because we live in a world where there are, in fact, many people who “are enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:18). Not every one feels about Jesus the way you and I feel about Him. Many of these folks hold positions of authority in the many relationships we have. Because of this we cannot afford to see ourselves as anything less than citizens of the King we serve.

In fact, we are citizens of heaven living in “enemy occupied territory,” according to C. S. Lewis. In that light it is important that we keep the communication channels open with the One for whom we live. We can’t afford to get our loyalties confused or our relationships cluttered with distractions.

Make no mistake about it, too; there are distractions everywhere and if we aren’t careful we can get caught up in lesser things, and find ourselves in a place where Jesus is just one loyalty among many loyalties. However, may it never be. For us, Jesus is Lord, and no one else. ~~~ no one.