Once there was a girl...

Once there was a girl who was getting old. Well, not real old, but old enough that things started to get fuzzy for her. We'll not go into how fuzzy her brain started getting...we'll just focus (!) on her eyesight. You see, things close up started to get blurry and she was struggling to read words on a page and text on a screen.

She knew this day would come, when her sharp focus on life around her would start to blur. When things right in front of her face would become unclear and confusing. She dreaded this, but she was resigned to it as she knew it was inevitable. Everyone goes through it at some point. So, now it was her turn. Knowing what she needed to do, she made an appointment with a doctor who specialized in correcting poor vision.

Easy fix, right? Not exactly. She had worn contacts for almost 30 years and had always seen just fine in this traditional way. She was content and comfortable in this self-made rut and was intent on holding on to this form of vision.

First, she decided she wanted Mono-vision. This is when you have a distance vision contact in one eye and a bi-focal or close-up vision contact in the other eye. Oh boy...what a trip! She felt like she was seeing the world through one of those fun houses at a carnival. Everything seemed exaggerated and skewed. Her brain just couldn't handle having different vision in each eye.

She kept going back to the doctor insisting that He correct her vision to what it had been all these years, but insisted on using her tried and true contact method. The Doc kept trying to accommodate her, but to no avail. Her vision was still blurry and continued to go in and out of focus.

Becoming quite frustrated, she finally admitted to herself that her vision had indeed changed and accommodations were necessary for her to regain her vision and even improve it. She knew she need READING GLASSES!!

She decided to get distance contacts and then also purchased reading classes for the close up vision she needed. To her amazement she felt like she was seeing a whole new world. Everything was clear and sharply in focus both near and far. Everything made sense in her world, and she saw things right in front of her that she had been missing.

How often do we get so stuck in our spiritual ruts that we begin to miss what is right in front of us? Is our "close-up" vision beginning to become blurry? Do we compensate for our poor vision by focusing on things way out in front of us and ignore life that is being lived before our eyes?

Are you missing the sadness on your neighbor's face? Do you "see" the struggle in your child's eyes? Are you ignorinig the pain in the gaze of the woman in the waiting room?

The "Doctor" is wanting to give you a new pair of reading glasses. Sure these new glasses will take you out of your comfort zone. But, take them. Wear them. And, SEE the world in a new way.

God is in the House...Are You?

Question...
...do you enjoy God more in a public place (church) than you do in private?

Question...
...Are you interested in only going to church and not "being" the church?

Two things I want to think out loud about here.
One, if you go to church, do you find it more enjoyable than your private time with God?
Two, this whole thing about "church" and whether it is necessary to "go to church" is a discussion I've had with both friends and family members.

Here are some of the viewpoints I've heard.

"Why do I have to go to church to worship God? I can worship God anywhere."
"Church is so boring...what's the point?"
"I don't want some guy standing up there telling me how to run my life."
"Religion just gets in the way."

First of all, worship does not happen in a time or at a place. Hello?

The above questions are so thought-provoking, aren't they? There is the issue of "going to church," but if you're one that does feel "going to church" is a vital and necessary part of your spiritual walk...there is the issue of whether "going to church" is more enjoyable to you than how you worship privately. Ohhhh.

Technically, our lives should express "worship" to our Lord 24/7.

Now, let's just be realistic here, shall we? That's darn near impossible, isn't it? I mean, what about the guy that cuts you off in traffic? And, the chick talking on the cell phone while trying to check out at the grocery store? Or the spouse that snaps at you impatiently because you failed to pay the water bill or take out the trash? Ya, it's darn near impossible to live in an act of "worship" ALL the time.

Nearly impossible,...and yet... possible.

What does Jesus Christ, the Messiah, say?

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48). Okay, so the way I figure it is Christ wouldn't say that if He didn't think it were possible, right?

And, Paul says in Ephesians 4 in talking about spiritual gifts:

"It was He who gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some postors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ (the church!!) may be built up until we all reach unity inthe faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in ALL things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, join and held together by every supporting ligament, grows, and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

Oh, well, here's something. So...we become perfect through service and working together as the body of Christ. Through serving others, using our spiritual gifts, "the church" is built up and thus we reach toward unity of faith and knowledge each one of us becoming "mature," attaining the WHOLE MEASURE of the FULLNESS of Christ...perfection.

Do you know anyone who is perfect? Hmmm...can't say that I do. But, I know some who come awfully close...who seem to live in more moments of spiritual perfection than most. Since I decided to find a church that pushed me to "step it up a notch" spiritually, I've experience spiritual growth. I've seen it mostly in the way I react to life's daily challenges and how I treat others. This, I think, is part of what Paul means by "...and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ..."

It's a daily, if not hourly act of worship. Jamee and I talked some last year about how one goes about maintaining that level of spiritual awareness or constant consciousness of worship. It is a challenge in our world.

I got off on the subject of our lives being a continual act of worship...but do we "enjoy" church more than we do our private time with the Lord? Ouch. This is all about relationship between you (me) and God. So, if we don't spend time with Him "in relationship" then red flags and alarm bells should be going off. Having said this...being a member or part of a Body of Christ (a church) is what keeps us, as Christians, spiritually healthy, challenged, inspired, humble and teachable (hopefully....at least that's the goal of the church). If the church you're going to right now is not challenging you spiritually, if you're bored with it, if you are going just because "it's all you've ever known"...examine yourself, seriously, and ask God to reveal to you any change that perhaps He wants you to make in your spiritual life.

Being a member of a vibrant, healthy, loving Body of Christ is VITAL to our spiritual health. I can't tell you how many Christians I know who go to church faithfully, but are "dying on the vine" and have, at most, minimal impact on behalf of the Saviour or is totally useless .

We are so content to NOT be challenged by the Lord or anyone else for that matter. I can just hear it: "Just let me stay on auto-pilot and leave me alone." No. I refuse to sit back and watch family and friends just getting by spiritually.

Sure it's hard work and Satan will work hard to keep you mired in the muck of mediocracy and non-growth. I sat in that muck for years. Sure I, on a rare occasion, would venture out of my shell and say a word or make a casserole, but...really, don't bother me. Until, one day, I realized I hated where I was spiritually and had the guts to ask the Lord (yes, I said it out loud) to expand my borders. I was so disappointed and embarrassed about where I was, that I was mad enough at myself to, as Jamee puts it, "step out into the middle of the river and let the current take me.

Question...
...do you enjoy God more in a public place (church) than you do in private?

Question...
...Are you interested in only going to church and not "being" the church?

I say to anyone (you or myself) who may either "live" in one of these categories or every now and again slips into one of these categories, "Woe unto you (me)."