Being a part of a church is not at all what I had expected. My assumption was it was a once-a-week club where we should feel good when we leave. And honestly, I did feel pretty good when I left because, mainly, I was just glad it was over.
I must say that I don't think the church was off as much as I just wasn't getting it.
Today? Well, it surely is a bit different. While all congregations have those, as in my earlier days, who count their attendance as a blessing to God, there is an entirely new world going on here.
I think the greatest surprise that I found is the life of the Bible. It is wonderfully weird in that it knows the intents of our hearts as we read. I find it to be of faith, of Jesus, and quite serious. Church is neither to be played nor manipulated. It is to be experienced daily as God runs the show and we perpetually adjust to follow.
The follow part is quite the challenge.
Me? When I got serious about it, my plan was to attend faithfully on Sunday mornings. No evening services. No Wednesday night classes. No volunteering. No participating. My plan was to do the Sunday morning thing.
My heart wouldn't/couldn't stop entering into faith and Jesus seriously.
So these forty years of ministry I find to be unbelievably believable! And the biggest surprise I find so far is that I thought after decades of involvement, study, and assertion that I would, understandably, possess a better grasp of the kingdom life.
Not.
As God gets bigger in my heart, I grow necessarily smaller. As He widens opportunistic paths, my confidence in self narrows. Faith. Jesus. Is a serious walk.
I urge you not to dismiss the call of God. It will scare you probably. But watch for Him. Listen for Him. Want Him. You will not be found to be a professional understander of God. You will be, however, found to need more humility as His leading will be so unexpectedly enormous. But, you can do it. We can do it.
Faith. Jesus. You and me in it...seriously.
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