One of the early church doctrines which is ignored by most is that of being aliens in this land. We like it here. We do everything we can to keep from going. Yet, this was not the nature of the faithful when the church began.Remember the Spanish church which meets at my coffee shop each Saturday morning? About 30 of them meet at 5:00 on Saturday morning to pray for their next day and then they disband for the donut shop. Memorial Drive bought their coffee/juice/donuts a few Saturdays back.
I hired three of their men to paint a couple of rooms in my house. I notice something consistent about these and many like them; extreme kindness and humility. They live appreciatively. Why? They are strangers in this land. They live as if they don't belong here. They apparently like it here; but their homeland is far away. They are aliens to our land.
But those humility/kindness/appreciative factors.....have possibly the Caucasian and African American races set our roots just a little too deeply into this temporary soil? Have we not taken on a mood of things are owed to us; we don't have to take the crap that goes on and eventually we let everyone know when that line is crossed? Have we in the church forgotten we don't belong here? Have we turned such truth into mere and meaningless words?
I think we have. I think we have become difficult to live near and among. This isn't just with the poor. The rich and uppetity-ups are equally condescending. I think the church has lost sight of authentic citizenship in heaven. Thus, we quarrel and wrangle about words.
We've rooted in to the point territorialism has become essential.I don't know about you, but I'm blessed to be around many of my Spanish friends as they display a demeanor that I don't possess well enough. God must wince when I live as if I am somebody running the show....any show.
1 comment:
Having moved around all my married life,and living in Australia now;I felt isolated asking myself where is my home on earth,which state?I feel that truely home is where your heart is.
My husband and I just visited a Church of Christ for the first time since moving here,I beleive we were the only Americans there it was a predominatly Chinese Church.
There was a young girl who was from Columbia,she was about to be babtized and was explaining her journey to this point.She had been estranged from her family because of a boyfriend and had moved out the house.Soon there after her boyfriend broke up with her.Heart and spirit broken she came to Australia to go to school. She was introduced to the Church,and became a member.Although she was in the church it did not mean all her troubles were healed,however she realized she was not alone anymore and however downtrooden she would ever be,she always had Christ in her life to hold her hand. Her last words before being baptized were "It did not matter how far away her family and friends were in her life,what matters most was how close her heart was to GOD!" Terry I am so glad I am able to access your sermons all the way from Australia,they always bring me closer to God.
Aliens? absolutley,just passing through.
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