There's something happening. Do you feel it? Our world is shifting. Everything we thought we knew: questioned. People are pushing against accepted social norms with a vengeance. I kind of like it.
When all the election mess began over a year ago, I kept saying, "Watch the Church. Keep your eyes on the church in the next five years." I am talking about the collective Church, not your personal church you attend on Sunday morning. I am speaking to the Church as a whole.
There is a rising; a stirring. Church was packed on Sunday. Wall-to-wall people and that was one of five services on one of three of our campuses. Now, I need to mention that our church always sees an uptick in attendance the Sunday before school begins. However, this felt different. There was a hunger for something unseen; something more than this world has to offer.
Us church-folk are freaking out. We hear something that goes against the traditions and values of the Church and we lose our minds and think everyone is going to hell. The end is near and we are all doomed. I may be alone on my island, but all this push against church norms does not make me high-strung. I kind of like it.
It is good to be challenged. Our eldest boy has not faced many challenges in his short eleven years on this planet. School comes naturally for him. He was never pushed too hard in sports. He's everybody's friend and isn't too concerned when someone pokes fun at him. This year, however, we've bumped up his academics putting him in a couple pre-AP courses and signed him up for a select basketball team (Not crazy select. Just a bump up from his rec team). I told my husband that I am thankful this kid is finally going to be challenged. He needs it. We ALL need it.
So, when the Church is propelled into controversial topics, I don't flip out. I listen. I learn. And I allow myself to be challenged.
"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the Glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." Revelation 21:23
If you've been around this blog long enough, you know that I am currently working my way through the Book of Revelation. (I told you I like a challenge). I am nearing the end and have gotten over the hump of the End Times disaster. Today, I studied about the splendor that will be the "new earth" after all is said and done. We tend to focus on the golden streets and pearly gates. We like to talk about how there will be no more crying or sadness. What we don't focus on, is what will be missing in this new creation. I found it intriguing that there will be no sun or moon; nothing to light the day or night. Those two celestial beings are absent from the new earth because God's glory will shine so brightly that they are deemed unnecessary. Whoa. That's pretty incredible.
As I think about the Church and how it has been pressed on all sides as of late, I wonder if we are being that light: a beacon of hope for those who don't know God. Right now, I think we are still in the mess of things. Don't lose hope, though. This is a good place to be. The Church needs to be challenged and pressed. We need to question and search. That's how our faith and love grow. It's how our arms widen to allow for more people to find grace.
Watch the Church over the next five years. See if it can be that beacon of light. My desire for the church is that it's light of hope shines so brightly that we don't need anything to pull people in. We don't need words or judgment. We don't need Scripture thrown in the face of sinners. We just need a light that shines so brightly that it pulls people in because of the immense amount of grace that is pouring out.
I pray that we as the Church can be so bright that anyone who passes by cannot look away.
To more light!
Love & Blessings
Meg
When all the election mess began over a year ago, I kept saying, "Watch the Church. Keep your eyes on the church in the next five years." I am talking about the collective Church, not your personal church you attend on Sunday morning. I am speaking to the Church as a whole.
There is a rising; a stirring. Church was packed on Sunday. Wall-to-wall people and that was one of five services on one of three of our campuses. Now, I need to mention that our church always sees an uptick in attendance the Sunday before school begins. However, this felt different. There was a hunger for something unseen; something more than this world has to offer.
Us church-folk are freaking out. We hear something that goes against the traditions and values of the Church and we lose our minds and think everyone is going to hell. The end is near and we are all doomed. I may be alone on my island, but all this push against church norms does not make me high-strung. I kind of like it.
It is good to be challenged. Our eldest boy has not faced many challenges in his short eleven years on this planet. School comes naturally for him. He was never pushed too hard in sports. He's everybody's friend and isn't too concerned when someone pokes fun at him. This year, however, we've bumped up his academics putting him in a couple pre-AP courses and signed him up for a select basketball team (Not crazy select. Just a bump up from his rec team). I told my husband that I am thankful this kid is finally going to be challenged. He needs it. We ALL need it.
So, when the Church is propelled into controversial topics, I don't flip out. I listen. I learn. And I allow myself to be challenged.
"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the Glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." Revelation 21:23
If you've been around this blog long enough, you know that I am currently working my way through the Book of Revelation. (I told you I like a challenge). I am nearing the end and have gotten over the hump of the End Times disaster. Today, I studied about the splendor that will be the "new earth" after all is said and done. We tend to focus on the golden streets and pearly gates. We like to talk about how there will be no more crying or sadness. What we don't focus on, is what will be missing in this new creation. I found it intriguing that there will be no sun or moon; nothing to light the day or night. Those two celestial beings are absent from the new earth because God's glory will shine so brightly that they are deemed unnecessary. Whoa. That's pretty incredible.
As I think about the Church and how it has been pressed on all sides as of late, I wonder if we are being that light: a beacon of hope for those who don't know God. Right now, I think we are still in the mess of things. Don't lose hope, though. This is a good place to be. The Church needs to be challenged and pressed. We need to question and search. That's how our faith and love grow. It's how our arms widen to allow for more people to find grace.
Watch the Church over the next five years. See if it can be that beacon of light. My desire for the church is that it's light of hope shines so brightly that we don't need anything to pull people in. We don't need words or judgment. We don't need Scripture thrown in the face of sinners. We just need a light that shines so brightly that it pulls people in because of the immense amount of grace that is pouring out.
I pray that we as the Church can be so bright that anyone who passes by cannot look away.
To more light!
Love & Blessings
Meg
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