I was a freshman in high school. My mom was driving me to school the morning I said, "I wish I knew everything there is to know." My mom's response, "Not me." At the time, I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to know everything. I mean, how cool would that be? I didn't want knowledge for power. The human brain intrigued me then and still does today. I wanted to know everything to understand us better. She, on the other hand, knew a protected mind was a blessing.
Now that I am a mom and an adult, I can understand my mom's perspective. Why on earth would I want to know all the bad stuff? This world is harsh at times and it's difficult to wrap our brains around the atrocities.
I am learning that I know and want to know far less than I did when I was younger. I am also realizing that I am okay with not knowing.
I recently started a study of the Church. Not my church, but the Christian church as a whole. My husband started researching the history of the Christian church in relation to historical happenings. While both of us ventured down this path, an author I admire and love came under fire for her stance on a hot-button topic in the Church today. As Scott and I journeyed our research and came across their findings on this topic, we realized that the Church is engrossed in taking a stance and having all the answers. I, however, am not sure that was the intended purpose of the Church when it was established after Jesus left.
We want answers in our sufferings. We need purpose and a reason. Many search out the Church to find those answers. It helps us heal. It gives us hope. What we miss, however, is that our answers, our hope, does not lie in the Church. It lies in Jesus.
What if it is okay to say, "I don't know"? I have been attending church since I was a freshman in high school. I truly became a Christian when I was in college. I've been at this faith thing for a while. The past couple of years I have dedicated my time to studying and researching the Scriptures searching my soul to find meaning and understanding in my faith. What I am finding is that even after all these years engaged in the faith, I know far less now than I thought I knew back then. And you know what? I am okay with that.
I can give you a timeline of the Church. I can tell you about The Council of Nicea and how they established the standards for the Church. I can give you the bullet points for how the Catholic church emerged. But, honestly, none of that matters. For the Church is far simpler than what man has created.
'Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6
Y'all, this is it. This is the Church. Jesus. We don't need to have all the answers. We don't need to take a stance. All we need to do is show up offering love and the Gospel. That's it. It really is that simple.
I keep coming back to the story of the woman at the well. (John 4:1-42) For over a year, I have heard this account numerous times. I kept praying asking God what I need to hear; what I need to learn. I think I finally got it sitting at the kitchen table talking about the Church and the man-made rules and stances that have become our faith with my husband.
If you don't know the story, Jesus meets a woman at a well. She a Samaritan. He a Jew. Scholars typically focus on the fact that they were from opposing people groups and should never have mingled. I focus on their story: how Jesus handled this woman. She called him out saying he should not be there talking with her since she is a woman and a Samaritan. He refocuses the conversation to the water before them. He tells her about the Living Water and how life is found in him. He sees this woman for who she is to become. When she asks for this "Living Water" he tells her to go get her husband and come back. When she tells him she has no husband, he calls her out reminding her that she's had five husbands and the man she is currently living with is not her husband. After more conversation, this woman becomes a believer and is the first missionary going back to her town proclaiming Jesus.
Let me tell you what I see in this story. Stay with me here. While scholars discuss the sheer power of Jesus reaching out to a people group he should have avoided, I see something different. Many churches and Christians like to grab onto the fact that Jesus called her out on her sin. I see a three-part story:
Part One: Jesus saw this woman for who she really was. She wasn't a Samaritan. She was a child of God. Cultural differences would not stop him from loving on her and sharing the Good News.
Part Two: He loved her. He shared the Truth with her.
Part Three: She was convicted, not because he judged her, but because something stirred in her while she was in his presence and she realized she was not living her life fully in the abundance God had for her.
Here's my take: Our job as believers is steps one and two. We get out of the four safe corners of our lives and meet people where they are. We open our doors. We serve meals at our kitchen tables. We hang out on our patios loving on those we would typically shy away from. We do this continually. We go back to those who keep stumbling and falling. This was Jesus' life; his ministry. Then, we love. We serve, we love, and we bring the Gospel. And let's be clear: The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS not the gauntlet. Then, we let God. We let God do step three. Step three isn't our place. Step three is between the individual and God. We aren't the judge. We aren't the caller-outer.
I think the Church has become too complicated and I think Satan likes it that way. We have become the Pharisees Jesus despised. We have forgotten the power of the Holy Spirit within each of us leading us to believe we are the convictors instead of Christ within. We have taken it upon ourselves to right others' wrongs for them; to point out their flaws and that is not our place. We have forgotten that the power that raised Jesus from the dead resides in each of us the moment we believe guiding us to change from within without the finger-pointing of church-goers. We have taken on the responsibility of the Judgement Seat and that is not where we belong . We have decided that we, as the Church, have and are responsible for having all the answers and Scripture is just not that black and white. If it were, faith would not be it's main requirement.
I am learning in my faith journey that it is okay to say, "I don't know" when people press me on my faith; especially those hot-button topics. Because what I do know is that I love you and I can show you the Gospel: the Way, the Truth, and the Light. It's not my place to tell you how to live your life. My job is to show you Jesus. At the end of the day, it's not going to matter if we had all the answers. What's going to matter is what we did with His Son. Did you throw Him in someone's face slamming the gavel down or are you going to sit at the table with them as Jesus did.
I often think about my legacy. What do I want people to say about me behind my back, at my funeral, when my boys talk about me to their grandchildren. I think I know. There's a country song by Lee Brice where he talks about being hard to love. The woman in his life loves him well and he refers to her as being "full of grace and full of Jesus." That's my legacy. I want to be full of grace and full of Jesus because if I am full of Jesus than I am full of love and that, my friends, is the Church.
Go and be the Church: be full of grace and full of Jesus. It really is that simple.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Now that I am a mom and an adult, I can understand my mom's perspective. Why on earth would I want to know all the bad stuff? This world is harsh at times and it's difficult to wrap our brains around the atrocities.
I am learning that I know and want to know far less than I did when I was younger. I am also realizing that I am okay with not knowing.
I recently started a study of the Church. Not my church, but the Christian church as a whole. My husband started researching the history of the Christian church in relation to historical happenings. While both of us ventured down this path, an author I admire and love came under fire for her stance on a hot-button topic in the Church today. As Scott and I journeyed our research and came across their findings on this topic, we realized that the Church is engrossed in taking a stance and having all the answers. I, however, am not sure that was the intended purpose of the Church when it was established after Jesus left.
We want answers in our sufferings. We need purpose and a reason. Many search out the Church to find those answers. It helps us heal. It gives us hope. What we miss, however, is that our answers, our hope, does not lie in the Church. It lies in Jesus.
What if it is okay to say, "I don't know"? I have been attending church since I was a freshman in high school. I truly became a Christian when I was in college. I've been at this faith thing for a while. The past couple of years I have dedicated my time to studying and researching the Scriptures searching my soul to find meaning and understanding in my faith. What I am finding is that even after all these years engaged in the faith, I know far less now than I thought I knew back then. And you know what? I am okay with that.
I can give you a timeline of the Church. I can tell you about The Council of Nicea and how they established the standards for the Church. I can give you the bullet points for how the Catholic church emerged. But, honestly, none of that matters. For the Church is far simpler than what man has created.
'Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6
Y'all, this is it. This is the Church. Jesus. We don't need to have all the answers. We don't need to take a stance. All we need to do is show up offering love and the Gospel. That's it. It really is that simple.
I keep coming back to the story of the woman at the well. (John 4:1-42) For over a year, I have heard this account numerous times. I kept praying asking God what I need to hear; what I need to learn. I think I finally got it sitting at the kitchen table talking about the Church and the man-made rules and stances that have become our faith with my husband.
If you don't know the story, Jesus meets a woman at a well. She a Samaritan. He a Jew. Scholars typically focus on the fact that they were from opposing people groups and should never have mingled. I focus on their story: how Jesus handled this woman. She called him out saying he should not be there talking with her since she is a woman and a Samaritan. He refocuses the conversation to the water before them. He tells her about the Living Water and how life is found in him. He sees this woman for who she is to become. When she asks for this "Living Water" he tells her to go get her husband and come back. When she tells him she has no husband, he calls her out reminding her that she's had five husbands and the man she is currently living with is not her husband. After more conversation, this woman becomes a believer and is the first missionary going back to her town proclaiming Jesus.
Let me tell you what I see in this story. Stay with me here. While scholars discuss the sheer power of Jesus reaching out to a people group he should have avoided, I see something different. Many churches and Christians like to grab onto the fact that Jesus called her out on her sin. I see a three-part story:
Part One: Jesus saw this woman for who she really was. She wasn't a Samaritan. She was a child of God. Cultural differences would not stop him from loving on her and sharing the Good News.
Part Two: He loved her. He shared the Truth with her.
Part Three: She was convicted, not because he judged her, but because something stirred in her while she was in his presence and she realized she was not living her life fully in the abundance God had for her.
Here's my take: Our job as believers is steps one and two. We get out of the four safe corners of our lives and meet people where they are. We open our doors. We serve meals at our kitchen tables. We hang out on our patios loving on those we would typically shy away from. We do this continually. We go back to those who keep stumbling and falling. This was Jesus' life; his ministry. Then, we love. We serve, we love, and we bring the Gospel. And let's be clear: The Gospel is the GOOD NEWS not the gauntlet. Then, we let God. We let God do step three. Step three isn't our place. Step three is between the individual and God. We aren't the judge. We aren't the caller-outer.
I think the Church has become too complicated and I think Satan likes it that way. We have become the Pharisees Jesus despised. We have forgotten the power of the Holy Spirit within each of us leading us to believe we are the convictors instead of Christ within. We have taken it upon ourselves to right others' wrongs for them; to point out their flaws and that is not our place. We have forgotten that the power that raised Jesus from the dead resides in each of us the moment we believe guiding us to change from within without the finger-pointing of church-goers. We have taken on the responsibility of the Judgement Seat and that is not where we belong . We have decided that we, as the Church, have and are responsible for having all the answers and Scripture is just not that black and white. If it were, faith would not be it's main requirement.
I am learning in my faith journey that it is okay to say, "I don't know" when people press me on my faith; especially those hot-button topics. Because what I do know is that I love you and I can show you the Gospel: the Way, the Truth, and the Light. It's not my place to tell you how to live your life. My job is to show you Jesus. At the end of the day, it's not going to matter if we had all the answers. What's going to matter is what we did with His Son. Did you throw Him in someone's face slamming the gavel down or are you going to sit at the table with them as Jesus did.
I often think about my legacy. What do I want people to say about me behind my back, at my funeral, when my boys talk about me to their grandchildren. I think I know. There's a country song by Lee Brice where he talks about being hard to love. The woman in his life loves him well and he refers to her as being "full of grace and full of Jesus." That's my legacy. I want to be full of grace and full of Jesus because if I am full of Jesus than I am full of love and that, my friends, is the Church.
Go and be the Church: be full of grace and full of Jesus. It really is that simple.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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