Rooted in love.

12 Oct posted by

Yesterday my son, his best ‘friend’ Monkey Monkey and I made the journey to place where my siblings live. We had lunch, went to Costco and generally had fun.  Monkey Monkey went with us everywhere as my son is his caretaker.  He feeds him, kisses him and puts him to bed each day.  Sometimes if something particularly bad has happened I need to give Monkey Monkey a kiss to make it better.  My son really loves his friend.  Most kids have something they love like this.  It’s hoped I guess that the love they show for their favorite toy/blanket/insert thing here is a reflection of the love they are getting.  When a child is rooted in love, is established in love they learn to love others in that model.

I guess you could say that who we are is a reflection of where we’ve been and who we’ve grown with.  I find it curious that some of my real life blogging friends are writing about the ‘toxic sludge’ that has invaded our local churches.  They’ve spoken of the anxiety and toxic mess we find ourselves in and they want to dig us out of the mess.  As I read about their dreams and desires I find myself wondering how we got into this mess in the first place. It’s curious that an organization which claims to be keepers of the truth would have deteriorated this far.  I think it’s safe to say we are in trouble and we need help.

This morning my devotions took me to the 3rd chapter of Ephesians and I ran across this verse:

“…And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

The problem could be that we aren’t rooted in love, we’re rooted in sludge.  Some people would say this isn’t so.  They’d say that we’re rooted in love but the world is in sludge. They’d say that people ‘out there’ just don’t like church anymore and it’s not our fault that we’re {anxious/depressed/frustrated/angry}, it’s theirs.  It’s their fault that we’re in financial hardship.  It’s their fault that we’re struggling to attract people.  It’s their fault…

I think it’s easier to blame others than it is to see that you’re in fact part of the problem.  Look at the Pharisees.  They were good, devout people and they had a lot of rules to follow.  They weren’t technically wrong you know.  There were loads of rules and they knew them by heart.  They spoke the truth of the law a lot of the time but they never got to the heart of the message.  To know something and live something are two different things.  The Pharisees spoke truth but failed to act in love.  They were rooted in tradition and rules instead of God and God’s gift of the law.  They knew the truth but they didn’t live it.

One thing that set Jesus apart from the religious people of his day was his desire to love people and share that love with others.  He spoke God’s truth in this world.  He spoke love to all people and lived a life that was accessible to everyone.  We need to live like this, rooted in the love of God and established in his word and accessible to all people.

When I watch my son love his Monkey Monkey I feel so incredibly blessed.  This little boy knows how to love in a big way.  He’s lived in love, been surrounded by love from a large extended family and collection of friends and that has shown him what love is.  He’s taken what he’s seen and made it his own. As a family we’re not perfect by any measure but that’s okay.  We try and we love and we continuing living in that love. This is what the church should be. We should be first and foremost a collection of people who try and love and live in that love.

Who we are is what our legacy will be.  If we don’t address this toxicity and fear we will pass this to the next generation as a model for what the church should be.  We are called to be living in truth, living in love.

Paul addresses this futher on in the book of Ephesians when he says:

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us…” Ephesians 4:31-5:1 NIV

If we live in God and are rooted in God’s love we will follow God’s example.  Who we are is reflective of where we are rooted.

I guess the question remains, are we rooted in love?
I suspect that if we root ourselves in love we’ll find ways to get out of the mess that we are in.

What do you think?

 

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Filed Under: Bible, Christianity, Church, Faith, Musings, random church things most of you probably don't care about, Reflections

The Zondervan NIV Style Line Bibles: A review and giveaway!

10 Oct posted by

When Zondervan contacted me about a new line of Bibles they were releasing and asked if I’d be willing to do a review I jumped at the chance.  I wanted to see what their new bindings looked like and if they were a necessary addition to the world of Bibles at large. When the box arrived I was as excited as a kid in a candy shop. It was love at first sight as far as looks are concerned.

Would you believe those were Bibles?  No?  Neither would I if I hadn’t witnessed it first hand.

Truthfully if someone had suggested to me that there was a need for stylish Bibles before discovering the Style Line I might’ve given them the side eye and wondered why.  I never thought the Bible needed to be pretty but I think having seen these I may have over looked something very important, people need to like their Bibles in order to want to read them. This line is attractive, lightweight and portable and I’ve found they are an interesting conversation piece. When someone asks what you’re reading you’ve got a great opportunity for sharing the Gospel. Definitely a winner in my eyes.

The pink Trimline Bible that arrived in this preview pack was perfect for combatting my workspace clutter. I love that it lays flat on the my table while I’m reading. On chilly mornings when I want a cup of coffee during devotions, I can hold my cup with both hands and feel its warmth as I study the word. It lays flat on my desk when I’m writing sermons which is a lifesaver {no more constant googling of this weeks text}! It’s compact size means it is not relegated to the bookcase and I can always grab it if I have a few moments to write or prepare. One of the best features of this Bible is the fact that it is not on the iPad so there is no Facebook or Twitter temptation. This Bible has been getting a lot of use!

As I currently travel from place to place on Sunday mornings I need a Bible to read from. It has to be lightweight, portable and easy to read from. I decided to test the Grey Woolen Style Line Bible and it worked very well.  I love the fact that it has a flap which protects the pages inside while it’s traveling. It is lightweight, durable and very pretty. It fit in my purse perfectly and was not heavy at all as I completely forgot to remove it before traveling to my Mom’s for dinner and didn’t notice until I opened my purse that it was in there. This will definitely be my go to travel Bible for ministry things in the future as it looks professional but reflects my personality.

The other collections are equally lovely. The Cherry Red Quilted Bible popped with color when I first saw it. I knew instantly that my sister would love a Zebra print Bible {and she confirmed this when I showed her the preview!}. The flora and fauna collection is gorgeous and I know that it will definitely be a popular selection when these hit the shelves. If you’d like to check these out further you can head to the publishers page here and look at the different collections they offer.

As a special treat Zondervan is giving one of my readers a copy of the Cherry Red Quilted Bible {which you can sneak a peak at in the top picture of the collection on the blog}.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below and say why you’d like a copy.  Remember Christmas is coming and this would be a great gift! Entries will be accepted until Saturday October 13th at 11:59 pm and I’ll announce a winner as soon as the random entry generator has done it’s job.  The giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the United States.  Good luck!

I’d like to thank Zondervan for providing the preview copies for me to review and enjoy.  The opinions are mine formed as a result of using them over the past few weeks.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The winner of the giveaway is Margo16 thanks to the generator at random.org.  I thank you all for entering the contest and I hope you like the Bible Margo!

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Filed Under: Bible, Book Review, Christianity, Church Stuff

When an iPhone meets the ocean.

18 Sep posted by

This year for our vacation my family travelled to PEI to sit in the sand, eat delicious food and basically just slow every cell in our bodies down so we could truly embrace life once more. It was wonderful. The red dust under your feet, the green hills rolling along and the majestic blue of the ocean just calms the soul and creates a haven unmatched anywhere else in the world. On the Island I can be still, sleep and dream. Things slow down and sometimes you just have to dance in the ocean and dance I did.

One day when the sun was shining bright as the wind blew lightly through my hair I danced in the ocean. Spinning and splashing with my son we had a marvelous time.  It was quite freeing until my iPhone flew out of my pocked and landed on the ocean floor. One moment I’m dancing and the next I’m standing there in shock at my stupidity wondering if I’ll ever see my beloved phone again. I’m sure it was quite a sight, me standing there bent over examining the ocean floor, praying to Jesus that I would find my phone.  After a few uncertain moments I spotted it, my pink iPhone cover was poking out of the ocean floor almost completely buried beneath the sand. I was equal parts relieved and dismayed. I found my phone but would it ever work again? It did work, it does work. I am so grateful.

After the initial shock I got to thinking how lucky I was that I had covered my phone in a protective case. On it’s own the iPhone is a little fragile. It has body and substance but could use more protection. The case surrounded it, protected it and became it’s saving grace. It wasn’t a requirement for the phone to work but it was essential in keeping it working this rocky situation.

I have an iPhone cover in my life. It’s my faith, my trust in Jesus and the community of believers that I surround myself with. There are times when it seems like I don’t really need those things. When life is going swimmingly well and I can walk along happily on my own. But there are times when life gets tough and life seems uncertain.  In those times I am able to turn to God, to my faith in him and the people that I gather with regularly to worship with.

This may seem trite and silly to you but I’ve noticed a lot of people lately declaring the lack of necessity of church. I’ve seen posts on Facebook and been told in person that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian and I suppose that is true in a sense. You can follow and read and study on your own but there is some measure of comfort, of community that comes from meeting with those who believe as you believe, who walk the same path you walk. You can’t find that on your own.  It’s tough to find a community in isolation.  The church is more than a meeting place.  The church is community, it is the people of God gathered.

We all need some protection, a community that rallies around us and supports us in good times and bad. When life gets tough and faith is hard to hold on to the church and it’s people hold onto it for you until you find your way again. I am grateful for the church and it’s community. As frustrated and irritated as I seem at times with the lack of movement and motivation, it is necessary, important and vital for those of us who follow Jesus. Jesus said when two or three is gathered he is there. I need this. I need community and I need Jesus. There have been times in my life when I found it next to impossible to find God let alone pray to him.  The people who held me up in prayer, who rallied around me and offered comfort sustained me through my darkest period. As Christians we need each other. We need community.

I am grateful that I have the church as imperfect and troubled as it is. I am grateful for the community, for the support and for the spirit that enters our midst when we gather together. A lot of the time I complain and wish things were different but I need to remember the things that are good about  it. The reasons we want it to continue are things we should celebrate and give thanks for.

While I wouldn’t recommend tossing your iPhone into the ocean to get a clean look at things sometimes it’s the odd things in life that help you find clarity about other issues. From now on when I cry out against the church and plead for change and focus I will try to remember the good things. We are a community of imperfect people who lift each other up in a world that can be very isolating. If only we could get others to see it that way as well…

 

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Filed Under: Christianity, Church, Musings, Reflections

Water your own grass.

11 Sep posted by

I was doing a little reading this week and came across this thought: “If the grass is greener in someone else’s yard, maybe it’s time you watered your own.  How long has it been since you’ve taken stock of what God’s given you and said, “Father, thank you”.”  {Craig Groeschel, Soul Detox} This is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. How long has it been since you watered your own grass?

Sometimes in life we forget the blessings that we do have. We start longing for things, material and immaterial. We begin believing what the world tells us and start thinking that we don’t have enough, we aren’t good enough, we should have more and be more. When we start envying what our neighbors have we forget what blessings we do have. When is enough, enough?

I know this is something I struggle with at times. There’s a fine line between dreaming and coveting it seems. I want to push myself to be better, to strive for more and discover who I was created to be but that sometimes can deteriorate into why not now, why not ever, why not.  It can quickly become I want, I want, I want.

This is something we struggle with as a church as well. We look at other congregations and see how well they are doing on the outside. We want what they have. We covet their numbers, success and secrets. We begin envy them and we start wondering why it can’t happen for us. In the end we fail to see the struggles they have and we forget the blessings we do have. When we fall into envy, when we covet and desire we often forget our blessings and fail to be thankful.

This week let’s water our own grass. Let’s wake up each morning and give thanks for one blessing we have received from God. If you’re up to it, write them down and by the end of the week you will have a list of seven things that you are grateful for, that are blessings in your life. Let’s count our blessings together and thank God for what we have been given.

Will you join me?

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Filed Under: Christianity, Church, Musings, Reflections

All this for a few Triscuits.

5 Sep posted by

A devastating event occurred in the life of my almost three year old yesterday. We ran out of Triscuits. Those tasty rosemary and olive oil crackers that make his little heart sing were not available to him. He was so distraught. Good mother that I am I took him to the grocery store to pick up a few boxes. By a few, I mean piles. I not-so-secretly love them too. As we wrapped up our trip with grapes, crackers and a magazine in hand I was met at the check-out line by a very kind man who told me he had held a place for the lady behind him as she went to the bathroom. This was the beginning of the longest part of my day. The adventure that was getting these stupid crackers home.

After five minutes of waiting, I began to put my things on the long belt {leaving ample space should she return} and began to wonder if indeed she was coming back. She came back all right.  She came back and nearly plowed into me. Then she pushed all of my things into a pile and began going through them {to see if I had found anything she might’ve liked that she missed}. After all of her things got rung through she then demanded that the check out lady give her 4 dollars. From where I am not sure but the manager came over twice and 5 different transactions occurred. It was the single most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen. She was seemingly unaware of anyone else around her and was extraordinarily demanding to the staff.

As I stood there I silently cursed my morning Bible sessions. A few mornings ago I found myself in the letters to the Galatians and have been mulling over this passage since. ”By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against such things.” {Galatians 5:22-23}. I’ve been mulling it over because as I read it I thought to myself ‘You know the thing I have to work on here is probably patience’. Patience. And here I am presented with a golden opportunity for me in which to work on it. *SIGH*

Having my personal space invaded, my things messed up, my time wasted and then watching this lady treat the employee poorly tested my patience. What I wanted to do was tell her to stop being rude and perhaps be aware of those around her. What I wound up doing was talking to the people behind me who were also agitated by what was going on. In talking to them, we shared some laughs. The people behind them began laughing too. Soon we had a whole line up of people {4 carts long} in better spirits and when we finally began to check out the employee noticeably relaxed and began to share her stories of difficult customers with me. We all left feeling pretty good. I guess you could say that patience does pay off.

This is the trouble with being Christian. What you want to do and what you should do doesn’t always match but it does pay off. Faith doesn’t end on Sundays after church. It continues on throughout the week and often the Bible speaks to you when you least want it to. This morning as I was reading the Letter of James I was reminded again how important it is to exercise what we say we believe as “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” {James 2:17}. Imagine what the world would be like if we all attempted to practice these fruits of the spirit and lived by the statement “Love your neighbor as yourself”. How many lives could we change by practicing our faith instead of just believing it.

 

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Filed Under: Bible, Christianity, Faith, Musings, Reflections

Sometimes messy is good.

21 Aug posted by

The smell of coffee lingers in the air. This particular brew is perfect. There is body. There is texture. It is bold. This coffee is not for the faint of heart. I reach for the cup as I reach for God. Warmth radiating from my fingers as I wrap my hands around it I while I chat with God. This ritual, this moment of connection is familiar to me. This moment when I meet God with coffee is one that I cherish.

My well worn notebook sits beside me, waiting to capture moments of grace and truth. The back cover is long since gone, it’s pages as mostly filled. The book is tattered and torn. It’s pages filled and crumpled. Today is day 111. One hundred and eleven days of getting up, meeting God and facing the day. One hundred and eleven messy mornings filled with grace, struggle and moments of wonder. I would have to say that it’s been a journey towards God, a journey towards who I am created to be. It hasn’t always been smooth but it’s been worth every moment.

When I look around my life it is often the messy things, my notebooks and my favorite novels that reflect who I am. They are loved, cherished and used. Why aren’t more Bibles like that? Seeing well used, well loved, written on and mucked up Bibles is wonderful. It means they are read, devoured and reflected on. They become part of a person. They reflect who someone is. I want to see more messy Bibles. More messy parts of life.  More of the real things. As I’ve watched VBS pictures pop up on my Facebook feed over the last couple of weeks I’ve marveled at the glorious mess that is faith. I’ve seen joy. I’ve watched faith come to life. I’ve witnessed the church being church and it’s been fantastic.

Messy is good. Messy is real. Messy is life.

Maybe we should be working towards messing things up. Perhaps we should make things messy and let go of budgets and buildings and just throw ourselves into the ministry of the church. It would be difficult at first but in time I think we might see that God has never been tidy and our attempts to make him so have only hindered our work.

Are you living a messy, beautiful life? How do you approach your faith?

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Filed Under: Christianity, Church, Faith, Musings, Reflections

Variations on a theme.

20 Aug posted by

There is one theme that keeps popping up in my life. People really want to know what will happen when I’m called back into ministry. I’m getting questions like “When you’re called back will you move?” and “What will happen when you’re called back?” I find this fascinating. Fascinating because I feel called in ministry right now. Fascinating because the present isn’t enough. Fascinating because people want to know what I’m doing, when I’ll be doing it and why before I’ve even thought about what comes next.

We are a people who want to know the answers. We are a people who demand to know what is coming. We have to have answers now.

Honestly right now I am not thinking about what comes next in ministry. For a while I dwelled on it like everyone else but then something amazing happened, I got too busy to worry as I was actually doing ministry. I was busy preaching. I was busy writing. I was busy living and doing and being. I’ve received requests to review books and Bibles and movies. I have planned and dreamed and thought about what projects I would like to take on right now. I am busy doing ministry in the present with people and I love it. I have no time to think about the future.

I think this may be one of our big problems as a church in general. We are so caught up in where we are going that we forget there are things that  need to be done now. We forget that our calling is to serve and share right now and instead are attempting to plan how we will do that in the future. We should live and embrace the ministry that we are called to in the present. If we do that we might find that our course clears up, some questions get answered and things get a lot easier.

Are we focused on the future or planted in the present?
Which do you think is better and where do you think we should be?

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Filed Under: Christianity, Church, Faith, Musings, Reflections

Fearfully and wonderfully made.

7 Aug posted by

I’m an urban farmer. I have pots, not land. In those pots though are plants I love and care for. I want to see them thrive. Last night I sat down to the first fruits of my harvest. It had been a quiet day in our house. I worked on the laundry and organizing my pantry. I stored a few boxes and looked for some things that had gone missing. As dinner time approached I wanted something quick. I threw together a tofu scramble, cut up some cucumber and added a few ripe cherry tomatoes to the plate. I was excited to try them. They were beautiful and rich with colour.

As I bit into my first tomato I was shocked. My yellow pear tomato had the texture of a peach and looked like a pear. It was almost sweet but not quite so. This was no tomato like I’d ever eaten.I specifically bought organic heirloom tomatoes to grow. I had expected them to taste different but I had thought different would mean a more intense tomato flavor or a slightly different texture. Nothing could have prepared me for this. Nothing could have prepared me for the tiny fruit explosion that hit my mouth.

My question for you is what have we done to tomatoes?

What have we done?

These heirloom tomatoes are what tomatoes used to be. This is what people used to get when they grew them in the garden. Why did we decide to create one variety and stick with it. What happened to diversity in the food supply? Why would we filter out such great varieties in the name of convenience. It seems as though our society tries to weed out that which is different. People are judged based on certain criteria.  Our fruits are expected to be a certain way. Our food has become bland and lifeless. The world has lost much of it’s character.

In so much of life we are expected to fit into a certain mold. When we go to work, to school, to church or to play there are expectations that we must meet, standards we must achieve. We cannot have different textures or looks. We are expected to conform and fall in line. There is so much pressure to fit in. To change. To become what others expect. We need to break free from these expectations. It’s time to bust out of the mold because God reminds us:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;” {Jeremiah 1:5a}

While we may not have been set apart to be a prophet like Jeremiah, we were set apart to be who we were created to be. Each one of us is uniquely made to make an impression on this world, to impact it in ways that may not be known to us yet. The words of the Psalmist in Psalm 139 say it well:

“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. {Psalm 139:14-15}

In a world that wants us to conform, that would rather have one variety of tomato and one choice of potato we were made to stand out. Like the Yellow Pear tomato we were knit together in a unique way that would be different, that would shine in a world which seeks to see us conform. It’s time to break free. It’s time to experience the world as God made it, as God made us to be in it.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made, let’s embrace that.

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Filed Under: Christianity, Faith, Musings, Reflections

The vine.

5 Aug posted by

On quiet days I like to slip out into our garden to do a little work. This afternoon while my boys were busy playing with trains and watching the Olympic trials I headed out to do some much needed pruning. My hanging baskets were wild. My tomato plants were mangled. After the storm last night they needed some serious care. The hanging baskets were relatively easy. It just took some time, patience and a steady hand to untangle the long vines and pull the dead and dying pieces from within. The tomatoes were another story. The storm had broken one plant in half. It had flattened many others. The plants I had tended, stalked and tied were no longer standing tall. Instead they were laying flat and broken. They were seriously compromised.

I sat down and got to work. I separated broken pieces. I pulled what tomatoes I could find off those broken parts. I tied the plants up again. I separated and divided. I worked to ensure more stability. Then I stood back and looked at that which was left. It was not the same. That which was left was not the same. It was shorter, smaller, stockier. The plants weren’t as far reaching or full. They looked different. They were new. They were healthier.

The plants that were left were healthier. I was ruthless while tending them. I cut off pieces that were unneeded. I sought to find ways of ensuring their health and well being. Sometimes a good pruning makes things better. It’s painful at the time. Sometimes our hand is forced to make it happen. But ultimately it is often the best thing. Sometimes in order to make things better pieces have to be removed, the plant has to be pruned, cuts need to be made.

I think in many ways this is where we are as a church. We are overgrown. There are branches that reach so far from the vine that they aren’t stable, they are weak. There are parts of us who have drifted. Parts of us who are tired. Parts of us who are dying. We are in need of pruning. A period of being cut back, shaped and reformed. We have a choice. We can chose to wait, to let God take over or we can be willing participants and surrender ourselves to this process. Ultimately the choice is ours. We can act or we can sit. We can move or we can stall.

I stalled. It was messy. My plants were destroyed after the storm came through and I needed to work hard to rebuild my garden and help these plants find their way once more. If we stall it will be messy. We may be destroyed before we are rebuilt and that will be quite painful. If we surrender to pruning now it might be a slightly more gentle process, though undoubtedly still painful.

Should wait until there is no choice for us or should we act and surrender to God’s will? This is one of those things that is so hard. Emotions are tied up in this. People’s histories and stories are involved. This is about more than buildings and money, this involves courage and fear, thoughtfulness and prayer. This morning rather interestingly before I even had glanced at my garden I came across this verse in my morning reading. ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.  Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” – John 15:1-2  It would seem that none of us, those who are healthy and those who are not are able to escape the pruning process. The question for us then is whether or not it is time? Is it our time to be pruned? Do we ask for God’s direction or wait until we are forced into action?

I leave it to you, what should we do?

 

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I want to.

26 Jul posted by

It was an interesting day.

Earlier today I noticed a man walking down the street stick his hands down his pants.  Scratching at his butt.  Not an itch but a full on hand completely down the pants butt scratch. He seemed oblivious to the fact that a million and one people were in fact watching him as he strolled from their cars, their buildings, from wherever.  He was 100% confident and I was strangely impressed.

Later while walking through the mall I watched a group of teens loudly, rudely enter the space of a man who as much older than they.  They didn’t notice, didn’t see.   A little explicit in actions, slightly inappropriate they were caught up in themselves and completely ignored him while going about their business.  He was able to witness it all and looked a little uncomfortable.

After lunch with my Gran at the food court while throwing out our garbage, I happened to run into a man who is known for being afraid of women.  He won’t talk to them.  He’s kind of afraid of them.  He nodded at me and I smiled, he smiled back.  This was a big step for him.

While my Gran was trying on pants at a store that was closing I noticed the sadness in the sales associates eyes.  As I got my iced chai latte I noticed the anger behind the baristas eyes and heard it in her voice.  I witnessed pain.  I saw loneliness.  I saw life uncovered.

These were just a few pieces of a day in this world that surrounds me. I was surrounded by people. Some happy, others sad. Some anxious, others confident. Some lonely, so very lonely.  Some sad, so very sad. In the midst of all these things where do people turn when they need someone?  Where do they turn when faced with a problem that seems insurmountable?

One used to say the church. A place where anyone can go, but could they? My friend Ray stated today on his blog that people in the church “often find ourselves looking down on those who are not. There really is a standard of dress in most places, often unstated.  We really wonder about folk who look or talk or act differently from what we consider the norm.” We are not really a place for anyone.  We are a place for people like ourselves.

So where do people turn?  Who do they turn to?

If Jesus was here he’d seek them out, help them and be there with them.  If Jesus was here he’d do it, he’d take care of things.  It would be a lot easier if Jesus was here, wouldn’t it?   It would mean we could just let him deal with things, let him take care of these people.  The problem is Jesus told us to “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”  Jesus told us to act.  To go out into the world.  To find people.  When you do this you often run into people who aren’t like you, people who are different. and we’ve already established that the church doesn’t like people who are different so we’re stuck, what do we do?

Where do we turn?  Who do we look to for answers?

I guess we’ve got to go with Jesus.  But Jesus asks for commitment.  Jesus asks for everything.  Are we willing to do that?

I want to.
I want to help create a space where all can come.
I want to feel the Holy Spirit in our midst as we work with God.
I want to minister in real ways, relevant ways to people who need something different, something new.
I want to live and practice what Jesus commanded us to do, knowing that he will be with us.

Will you join me?

 

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Filed Under: Christianity, Church, Musings, Reflections
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