Theme: We are attracted by the first impression but held by the reality.
Pastor Dan spoke passionately this past Sunday about who we are as a church body, as if describing a person and their traits. Just as everyone has their unique personality and gifts, along with how they choose to display them, so does the Body of Christ. When we begin to live out Galatians 2:20, we give away individual goals and actions and live as a member of Christ’s Body, working in unison with the other members.
If I did not know this Body, which Pastor Dan was describing, and walked into this gathering for the first time, I might be inclined to assign a label to the body he spoke about. He described this body as highly generous, compassionate, loving, and outward-focused. Everything he described had nothing to do with the building in which this body gathered, and I would label it as ‘alive.’
Since I was a football coach for 18 years, allow me to compare who this body is to a football team and game.
In a football game, both sides of the ball often huddle after each play to give and receive instructions for the next play. We understand this is a part of the game when we watch it, but that is not why we watch it. We watch football to see if what was called in the huddle will be executed on the field and how well.
A critical part of the Christian experience is that the body "huddles" together in the church building to get instructions on its actions. People know that's part of what we do as the church. But what the world sees and only cares to see is whether believers will execute in life what they huddle about in church. Pastor Dan, the Head Coach in his press conference, described the Body executing its instructions at a remarkably elevated level because of the vision for the team and a clear and straightforward playbook for the future.
To sum up, we know that our body is extraordinarily compassionate, generous, loving, and other and outwardly focused. We know that our building is only for training and instruction. And we know that the world sees us for all we do in Christ, as a body outside the building's walls.
Jesus said, "Let your light so shine BEFORE MEN, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). To those who have seen us run our plays, our actions strongly and boldly reflect life and light. We are a body alive. Do those who have not seen us in action know who we are? How can they know, as many are searching for an avenue to truly make a difference?
Hubert Humphrey once said, “In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be.”
Thank God Pastor Dan invited Kirby and I to visit our church. We spent years living near it and coming to it to vote. It was not until we met all of you, took part in worship, felt the love and warmth, and experienced your body's vision and actions that we knew we were home. Sadly, we would have been cheated out of loving you so much if we were not invited to look beyond the label, open the brown paper wrapper and find you inside.
Thank you, Lord.
Scripture: John 1:4 (NIV); 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you for your Grace in my life that allows me to part of your Body at this time in your purpose. I thank you for allowing me to find fellow members of your body who have such life and who see that life as best expressed outside of our training center. I pray always that we become a lighthouse in the storm, attracting those looking for the safety of the shore and a home port. Lord, I know there are thousands and thousands, and I pray that you show us the barriers we have in place that are keeping them from finding us and you. Amen
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