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?