We Are Legend

I know one should never mix metaphors, but there is a time and place for everything. So here it goes...

The movie I Am Legend was a box office hit several years ago. Good movie. Watch it. It is about a man. Not just any man, but the man. The man that finds the antidote for the genetic mutation that devastates humanity and sacrifices his life for the world. Kind of Messianic.

Another metaphor that I would like to employ, or maybe mix, is the map kind of legend. This legend explains important details about the map, which in short makes it readable. Without the legend the map is unreadable and unreliable.

In some sense the church is andldquo;Legend.andrdquo; We are Legend because we are the community of people with the antidote for the mutation known as sin, and the community that in no small way has become the sign or explanation of the God rule.

Thus, We are Legend.

One aspect of how we as the church function as a Legend is the Gospel.

The Gospel is the antidote for our corruptness called sin, and the Gospel is the primary language or voice of the church that provides meaning, orientation, and direction to lost souls.

One great place to see this in action is Acts 2:22-24 which reads:

22 andldquo;Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves knowandmdash; 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

The message of the church is that Jesus lived a miraculous Spirit filled life. And frankly we should be following his lead, not with crazy emotional experiences, but with solid Spirit controlled lives that are extraordinary, yet ordinary.

He also died a providential death. It was a death at the hands of men, but also according to the sovereign plan of God. It was no accident. We too should embrace this death model as the church. In Mark 8:34 Jesus teaches us that His way is the death way. Life only comes via death.

Finally, Acts 2:24 speaks of resurrection. Living, dying, and rising: this is the rhythm and message of the church. A church that knows how to live and die will also know resurrection, as the power of love will always overcome the power of sin and death.

In essence this has been one of the fundamentals of the church for years. Historically, it has been called the Christus Vicor, or the Victory of Christ. The early church did not believe that the cross of Christ was left with no present day voice. They believed that the redeeming action of Christ continues today and is present in the world through the church, in the church, and by the church.

When we live and die like Jesus we become a song and foretaste of the coming rule of God.

We are Legend.

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