Through ONE person He manifested Himself! Through MANY people He still wants to manifest Himself!

Colossians 1: 15-20 - 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  

17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  

18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.  

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,  

20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 

  

I truly believe in the power of the Gospel of Christ to change everything! I truly believe that Jesus Christ, supreme shepherd and all-powerful Lord, reigns from eternity and for all eternity and that as the Bible states in this passage above, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation and that everything exists through Him and for Him. 

  

The apostle Paul, a man who was once a persecutor of the disciples of Christ and became an ardent preacher of the gospel message to the Gentiles, uses in his various pastoral letters the theme of the centrality of Jesus' work. Central to Pauline thought is the figure of the Christ as the founding and final element of all missionary work, the rock by which every effort for the collective must be founded on and the best definition of inspiration for the sincere and concrete exercise of divine love. Jesus Christ is the very message of reconciliation that became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. 

Paul became a man full of love for the lost because the feeling that was also in Christ Jesus burned in him. Like Christ, the apostle to the Gentiles understood that only the message of reconciliation and salvation through the cross could bring hope to a lost Hellenistic world, as was the Gentile world of the first century. While he perceived the stark reality of doom of the Gentiles, Paul had a deep love for every nation or people that had not yet received such hope. In many instances of his letters, the apostle demonstrates that all his efforts came solely from the desire to make Christ known and the world reconciled to God. 

  

This has always been and continues to be my desire. Since I understood by the power of Christ the necessity of salvation through the cross, I was no longer the same. The sincere and authentic dreams of making the name of Jesus known began to flow in me and to generate a vocational feeling that would lead me to where I am today. 

  

This week was incredible here in DC. I can safely say that it was the best week so far: productive, agitated, with unique experiences that only by the loving grace of God could I live! And I'm living it. 

On Sunday I went to the service at the Lincoln Park United Methodist Church together with my other colleagues. I would never have imagined that I would love this experience as much as I did. The community loves Christ, has a sincere heart before God and is free to worship and serve the King in a unique and freeway. Unlike religious ceremonies where only liturgy stands, sameness and indifference take place, I was able to witness in this community of faith a vibrant and contagious atmosphere of worship to Christ. I was very happy to witness this. The moment of praise was extremely unique, with wonderful black gospel songs. There was also a moment of call to the altar of all men so that they would receive prayer and be blessed in their walk of faith and life in general. The sermon was shared in a competent, profound and touching way, addressing the fatherhood of God and the example that gives us to face our experience of life knowing that we are sons and daughters of a loving father. 

After this incredible moment together with the brothers and sisters of the UMC I went straight to a Brazilian church in Maryland. It is happening since June 14th in Russia the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a global soccer tournament that unites the world in 30 days of partying, sports and lots of excitement. The World Cup is a cultural event for Brazilians. We are the greatest champion of all cups: we won 5 championships. Our pride takes place and we are filled with a sense of national patriotism as we see our soccer team represent our people. World Cup in Brazil is part of the national identity. The country stops. And that last Sunday was no different. It happened the first game of Brazil in the tournament. Brazil versus Switzerland. Obviously, we were the favorites and we expected a positive result. But that was not what happened. The final score was 1x1 and brought great distress and discouragement to the Brazilians. Yet it was worth the experience of meeting other Brazilians who live near Washington DC and who also love Jesus! 

And my week itself was challenging and at the same time incredible. On Monday we received at the headquarters of Creation Justice Ministries about seven leaders from various organizations who came to Washington to advocate for public lands and American national parks. The Next100 Coalition brings together dozens of different institutions struggling to preserve the cultural, environmental and historical richness of national parks. We had the privilege of visiting the offices of 5 representatives and 3 senators from Monday through Wednesday and ask for special attention to this urgent issue. Honestly for me it was one of the most incredible experiences I've ever had. I love political engagement, I believe in the strength of democracy, and I try to fight in my country for what I think to be the best. Being able to witness meetings with American national leaderships was important to generate in me even more the will to fight for Brazil and the world and demand from those who are in power attention to what is necessary and urgent! 

So, I believe I can summarize all this week in one sentence: God has already manifested Himself through Christ and He now wants to manifest Himself through each one of us. The title of this blog sums up what my week was like. I was able to witness the action, care, love, attention, grace, forgiveness, mercy, justice, reconciliation and so many other manifestations of God through a living and loving church, a group that never tires of struggling for changes in an unjust environmental system and friends who in their daily walk reminds me how good it is to be with those who dream the same things as us! It is like Paul: everything comes from Him and everything is for Him. May we be instruments of love, justice and reconciliation to a lost, depraved and dead generation! 

Lucas Toledo 

Creation Justice Ministries Intern