Packing up and Moving in

I'm dreading packing. You heard me, packing. For close family and friends the word packing has the drama of cereal when associated with my life, because after all it's me we're talking about. But seriously, I'm so tired of putting my stuff in a box, moving it around, and rearranging it in a new living space I could scream.

Thankfully I'm not going far, as opposed to other moves in the last couple of years which took hours, or days, of driving. This time I'm not uprooting my children, relearning a culture, and having to memorize directions to the nearest Walmart, all-over-again.

Nevertheless nothing reminds me, like boxing up my stuff, that this world isn't my home. It's a good reminder to face once in a while. It keeps me humble, dependent, and expectant. All good things on the whole.

The weariness that comes with thinking about the hassle of moving all of this stuff, again, isn't the only soft spot this move brushes up against. There's a tender spot that hesitates in the ongoing process of learning directions and customs and history and names, it whispers "you will never belong".

When you've yearned for community for as long as I have, when you've learned to lean close at the rumor of it's existence, when your heart's beat wildly at the sound of it's coming, only to have it snatched away before it's full grown, you start to protect a tender place in your heart. Just like you protect your grandmother's fragile china as it's loaded on a moving truck.

I'm excited about closing the half hour drive between home and church with this move and putting to rest what was, quite frankly, another painful experiment in biblical community. I'm excited, and, I find, hesitant. Hesitant because the last few months at church have moved me from friendly outsider to in-the-trenches member in this new body. And this coming move will only deepen an intimacy that's been growing. While that's a beautiful thing it also feels vulnerable. Do you know what I'm saying?

It's a strange place to be, believing wholeheartedly in the truth of God's promise and command of a living union for his followers, and yet having rarely seen the church actually live in that reality. Having born the consequences of that paradox quite personally I feel raw at times.

I want to jump in. Yet I hesitate. 

I've learned that when hope is broken another moving van waits on the other side, and I am so way over that. I'm tired of fit pitching and selling out to religion because the radical union Jesus offers is too hard. (I get it, I'm as stubborn, prideful, and selfish as the next person. Having to yield to others out of love for Jesus is humbling work. But I don't see any other way around it, do you?)

I'm bound and determined to pursue intimacy with Jesus' people, it's my birthright, it's a need, it's a command. But if you see me grit my teeth or hesitate, be patient, it may take me a moment to lift my eyes from the memory of burned bridges to the compelling eyes of Jesus urging me to trust. 

So, this month as I put my dishes back into a box, and sort through my things, it will be an act of trust. Trust that this world which never fully satisfies me will give way to a redeemed one, trust that God will establish a lasting unity with my heart and his people in this new place, trust that his faithfulness will never run out, and trust that when I disappoint others, because I will, that I will receive grace.

As my heart is stretched I hold to the truth that this world isn't my home, God's heart and his people are. I'm trusting that by faith he will make my heart rest, living out the hard work of unity, with his family, by his Spirit.

What does God use to remind you that this world isn't your home?

God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. Ephesians 2:19-22 ish, The Message

Where I am Home

Time moves differently in Serbia. I don't know if it's the pace of this culture or that I'm so outside of my own routine. I loose track of time and days feel longer. I feel like I've been away from home for a week already. Never has an experience been so sweet and so hard (except maybe childbirth and that's all together different).

I've been praying for Serbia for months, and you all have listened so patiently to me as I have! I was surprised that I didn't cry the first night we were in Serbia and exhausted from hours of travel and a lack of sleep. I didn't cry when I saw a little boy the size of a ten year old, who actually isn't much younger than my 32 year old sister, bent with cerebral palsy lying in a crib. No, I cried at church, two days after we had been here. I cried at the beauty of seeing the people I've been praying for, my brothers and sisters in Jesus. I cried when I heard "Blessed Be Your Name" sung in Serbian and I joined my voice in English to worship our Father.

Few experiences in my life have been as poignant and victorious as standing in the midst of a people I'm coming to love and proclaiming our faith in the living God who made us all. Nichole and I have been so blessed by friendship here in Serbia.

On Saturday we met up with Gordana. Infectious, funny, passionate, Gordana who graciously took us under her wing and offered us the bond of sisterhood. We had a wonderful time of sharing our hearts, our lives, and our dreams. I love the body of Christ, wherever I find it I AM HOME! The first few days here were intimidating but when we walked into church the strain slipped off our shoulders and our hearts were lifted.

Tomorrow we go back to the institution. Honestly I can't describe the mixture of emotions. Dread, humble gratitude, longing, fear, excitement, I don't know. The task is overwhelming, over 600 bodies, big and little, all at different stages of health and need, all requiring attention. We actually haven't seen the worst of the worst yet and I can't imagine any worse.

"God reigns over the nations;  God is seated on his holy throne. The nobles of the nations assemble, as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God;   he is greatly exalted." Psalm 47

God is the God of Serbia, he reigns and rules over all the people of the earth. Over the wealthy and the poor, the strong and the weak. What a relief that I am not responsible for even one of them. When I step foot in the institution I will remember it is God who is king and it is my role to serve. 

Dear friends let me ask you once again to pray. On Friday we walked through most of the institution. We saw, we heard, we touched, but tomorrow we will sit down and hold and play and hug. It will be even more difficult for me and I need prayer for a right and holy perspective and for so much grace. Thank you once again for your love and support! 

How Could I Have Known

I find myself breathless, surrounded by laundry, suitcases, and to do lists. If I knew then what I know now I wonder if I would have risked praying a reckless prayer of abandon. It was easy to pray at the time, from my comfortable bedroom, surrounded by love and hope. "God, show me your heart, teach me what you love, show me what makes you grieve."

How could I have known how seriously he would take that request. I should have known, nothing delights the Father's heart like intimacy, a child drawing near to know and be known. He leaned in and whispered, "redemption." Painting in broad brush strokes he showed vividly my own adoption, once a black-hearted enemy, now a beloved child. 

Why would I think the privilege of knowing infinite love wouldn't come without risk or response? If I had known then that I would be boarding an airplane to fly for hours to a country I don't know, would I have asked the question? Maybe had I known the amazing panorama having Holy Spirit eyes would open up, I would have asked earlier. 

Seeing the suffering of others is overwhelming. I'm counting on a couple of things to keep me from drowning in the pain of other people's loss. I'm not responsible for their pain, I can't take responsibility for their situation or their rescue. It's God that takes responsibility for the orphan and outcast, but he has issued an invitation to his people to participate in the rescue of the lost and broken. That's where you and I fit, in the crook of his heart, the bend of mercy and suffering. He provides the power,the motivation, the mercy. I join in. 

I'm also counting on his love. I don't doubt it, can't be separated from it, that cosmic heartbeat beating for his little ones. I'm counting on his real, bloody love extended to me and extended to the man huddled alone locked in filth and disconnected from reality. I'm counting on the love that upholds me, to heal the child living so deprived of human contact that they are actually afraid of people and of being touched. I believe it's real, a love strong enough to right every wrong. It's the only way I can willingly get on an airplane and fly directly into the darkness.

I'm also seeing Ephesians 2 lift itself off the page into real life. People, living stones, joined together by the same Spirit of love and power. Connecting to form the real life hands and feet, the very body, of Jesus. How could I ever go alone? But I'm not, the Holy Spirit in you connects to the Holy Spirit in me and together we lift a gift of love up to heaven on behalf of our precious Jesus. Every prayer prayed, every gift given, every encouraging word spoken, every hope spilled out links our hearts together and bears fruit. I'm witnessing it and I can't wait to tell you all about the impact it will have on the very least of humanity!

I will try to update here and on facebook as I travel. I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to post pictures of children or not, but I will warn you in the heading if the images are painful and I won't post them directly to facebook. Thank you friends for going with me!

{I'm linking with my friend Ellen for her Writing Prompt on Monday's. Today's prompt, If I Knew Then What I Knew Now. Ellen has been an integral part of my journey to Serbia.}

A Truth I Live By ~ Together

Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-21

It's hard to have favorites in a work of excellence and beauty, but I would have to say Ephesians is a favorite of mine. God's plan for his people sweeps out in brush strokes that are both intimate and grand. 

How are we made right with the Living God? Through his ancient plan of shed blood for you and me. How are we made holy and fit for eternal union with him? Through the power of his Spirit alive in us. How do we live a life of meaning and power, fulfilling all he intended us to be? Together. 

There is no way around it. Your story, my story, our spiritual maturity are all wrapped up together. People who say they don't need to go to church to know God, and worship him just as well out in the forest haven't read Ephesians. That is not God's plan for his people.

But let's face it. We drive each other crazy. At least sometimes. Is this the only way to have the full empowering of the Holy Spirit? As a community of faith walkers? I believe it is. 

This passage in Ephesians hearkens back to another temple. In the old testament God's glory, his empowering presence dwelt with man, first in the tabernacle and then the temple. His presence was evident, palpable, undeniable, bringing glory to himself and favor to his people. 

That same powerful presence is available to us as well. Certainly the Holy Spirit indwells us individually, but to stop there would be to fall short of God's plan and full blessing. How do we know the fullness of God? How do we see God from every angle and know the rich textures of his character? How are we connected to Jesus, the cornerstone? By being connected with each other.

This is a truth I live by. When the crabby older lady criticizes my parenting, when the pastor's words convict, when relationships challenge my cool, I remember God would have me know him more deeply and become more holy by being connected to them. Being connected to those growing in faith, those who are younger, those who are hurting or confused, those with stronger faith that hold me accountable, is good for both my faith and theirs. 

Of course it's not all difficult, there are plenty of sweet moments, breathtaking aha moments, Holy Spirit resonating moments too as we share our hearts and lives together. Is it challenging to live "joined together"? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Beyond question!

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16

So do your part! Let's work together and see the fullness of God dwelling in us so that we are full of love.

{I'm linking up with Ellen Stumbo, whom I am excited to be connected to in faith, for her Monday writing prompt.}

The Real Deal

I'm not Ann Voskamp, or one of a dozen other amazing authors, I'm not sure if that fact dismays or delights me. It's been on my mind lately and I've been wrestling it into submission. 

Two different blog posts on friend's sites recently prompted these responses from me.

Why do I write? Does the world really need another novel, another blog post, another e-book. Yes and no. The entire world may not need to hear what we need to say, but our sphere of influence does. Words of hope, words of healing, words of wisdom or challenge, words of joy, of meaning, of beauty, they are our gift to the hearts of those around us. Loved ones and strangers alike. Our hearts long to connect and words allow us to do just that. 

and 

I've been pondering lately, how I can be the best me, who honors God, if I'm worried about being someone else?

Are you being the best you possible? Do you wonder if what you do matters?  I say it does. One of my favorite quotes is from Jim Elliot, “Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road; make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” 

It may be that my words and actions, led by Jesus, impact one person or one hundred. But that's up to God. He can use whomever he wants however he wants. Our responsibility isn't the size of the audience, the budget, the talent, ours is the responsibility of submission and obedience.

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do," Ephesians 2:10. Don't offer the world a copy of someone else, offer the gift of you, uniquely created to honor God, pointing others to the truth of Christ. 

I want to hear your story. What dreams has God given you, what are you gifted for, what are you offering to others?

The Gift of Right Expectation

Yesterday I wrote about not being enough. Not enough to satisfy other people, or accomplish anything on my own really. Only Jesus is enough to satisfy and to overcome our weaknesses. 

Today I'm wondering, do we allow Jesus to be enough for others as well? Grace let's others off the hook. It is a right expectation that they can never be enough to satisfy or fulfill us. Grace says, your weaknesses are covered by Jesus' righteousness. Grace has orderly expectations of God and of people. 

I'm not saying we don't hold other Christ followers accountable to a righteous life. And I'm not saying that we don't desire those living in sin to be reconciled to God.

I'm saying we live out our relationships with others, even the hard parts of confrontation and restoration, with a heart remembering that we ourselves are not enough. Expecting others to be enough to get it right all the time, please God in their own strength, and never disappoint us, is unwise and unkind. 

I think that may be what God meant when he inspired Proverbs 16:18. "Pride goes before destruction,  a haughty spirit before a fall." He hates it when his children, whom he saved when they couldn't save themselves, forget their humble beginnings and deal harshly with others. When we expect others to be enough we're saying we can be perfect ourselves, which is a lie, and God opposes that lie in our lives for our own liberation.

I have to confess, I have struggled for years with this. But God has faithfully been stripping away spiritual pride. Of course I'm disappointed when leaders don't lead, peers stumble, those who should know better don't. But the reason I'm disappointed has changed. Instead of being offended by the short comings of others, it's my love for Jesus' bride that desires the health and well being of it's members.

I've lived too long with the proverbial plank in my eye, running around pointing out others specks, their not enoughness. But I don't think the size of the sin is the issue in that teaching, I think the ownership is. Our own issues should be foremost in our lives, our sin, our obedience is our primary responsibility. It's not that we aren't supposed to assist others with their own speck. It's that we need to deal with our junk, recognize in humility the that we have junk, and remember it's a privilege to assist others with their messiness.

Not an easy task, to admit we are not enough and allow others that same freedom. But what a liberating way to live; our eyes on Jesus, trusting his righteousness for us all. Our devotion in prayer for the church body and our families, our gift of forgiveness, our hopeful expectation, are all evidence of faith in the One who is enough for us all.

Ephesians 5:1-2, "Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Is it harder for you to accept weakness in yourself or in another? Ask God to help you extend life giving grace today.

Follow the Leader

Leadership is a hot topic these days. And for good reason. The spiritual law of leadership is important. Defined by the Trinity and effecting our social orders from family life, to government, church health to corporate success it's obvious that leadership matters.

There's a topic that I think needs equal attention however. How to be a good follower. Being a good follower is as important as being a good leader and can impact a leaders success. Interestingly enough I believe the life of Jesus teaches us a great deal about following the leader. Even leaders need to know how to be good followers because they are apt, in some areas of their lives, to not always be the leader.

In his time on earth Jesus had followers but he was also led. Jesus said that he came to do the will of the Father. (John 8:28) He was submissive and humble, not necessarily popular attributes, but important.

As a woman who is married to a pastor I've had an opportunity to contemplate this truth over the years from a variety of angles. Families and churches would be much healthier if leaders led and followers followed.

Here are just a few characteristics I believe a good follower exhibits:

Humility - those of us in a position of following need to be okay with not being the leader. Recognizing our submission to another's role helps define a healthy relationship. We all have equality in our value but we don't all have equality in our roles. We need to be okay with that. Leaders must leverage their power for the good of others and followers must respect authority without manipulating and undermining. Confident respect is healthy when followed through in submission.

Assume goodwill - unless otherwise proved operate under the assumption that your husband, pastor, father, or boss has motives of good. If it is proved  they don't find out why, don't chuck the relationship, work toward restoration and healing. Leaders need appropriate accountability and at times correction. However, I've found when we believe in a leader, pray for them, encourage them, and follow well, the need for intervention is lessened.

Participate - don't just sit back and watch the leader do all the work. Just because you "wouldn't do it that way" doesn't get you off the hook of taking ownership. Leaders can't be successful if those they are leading are passive. If you are a part of a family, church, organization, country the success of those organizations depend on your willing participation.

"Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you." Hebrews 13:17


So in a day when the conversation turns readily to leadership let's not forget to follow. Nothing promotes unity in a family or a church like when the balance of leadership and submission are in place. Have you struggled with a resentful or suspicious attitude toward the leaders in your life? Ask God to help you overcome it and instead be a blessing to them. Leaders lead better when their followers follow.

Adventures in Gardening ~ Change

So, my garden is in a new phase. It's straggly. My squash plants died back and I had to trim and clear out a lot of stalks. I'm harvesting cucumber, pumpkin, and tomatoes. But my carrots and watermelon aren't ready yet. Two of my four tomato plants are a blighty, gangly tangle. My dill and cilantro plant appear to have cross pollinated, don't even ask me what that's all about. And after a few days of rain the weeds have staged a takeover. It's a mess.

Today I went out armed and beat back the revolting army of weeds. I pruned some dead vines. Overall I attempted to regain order. Throughout the whole process, while standing on my head in the beating southern sun and humidity, with my hair in my face and ants crawling up my legs, I had company. Our small neighbor children, along with my daughter, were "helping".

As I surveyed my garden, and watched the children spray each other with the hose and pick anything they could get their hands on, I contemplated the course of this enterprise. Where had I gone wrong? How could I improve follow through and productivity? Had I accomplished my goals? What had I learned? Was it worth it?

The parallel between my garden and ministry was striking. So often the garden/program itself becomes so important we don't realize adjustments are necessary. I really need to remove my old tomato cages and re-stake my plants. Old squash plants and pumpkin vines need pulling up; underneath new growth is visible. And I need to consult my gardener's manual again for instruction. That's true in ministry too. Sometimes frameworks need to change and old forms need to be scrapped to make room for new growth. Adjustments need to be made and the manual consulted.

It's wise to learn from, take responsibility for, and then not repeat mistakes. It's also important to take time to enjoy the squeals of laughter and curious faces of our "helpers". So often in church ministry - programs, the building, and budgets - are valued over people. People are messy. My garden serves me and serves as an opportunity to draw my neighbors in, if it takes top priority over them it has to be put in it's place. The same is true at church. The newcomer, unseasoned and raggedy, eager to help, matters. Sometimes programs have run their course, have grown gangly, and stopped producing fruit. Sometimes we have to remember why we do what we do and put people back in their proper place.

Have you seen things in your own life run their course and need changing? How do you respond to that change?

Unity Matters ~ A Match Made in Heaven

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Ephesians 5:25-33

God has been teaching me about unity lately (I've written several posts on that topic in the last few months. You can read three of them here and here and here.) Lately, I've been pondering God's picture to us of unity in marriage. I'm compelled to probe God's call to be united to him and I'm intrigued by the "profound mystery" that he communicates to us about unity in marriage. Let me begin by telling a story:

Once upon a time a good man; a man of character and fortune, a man of excellent reputation and wisdom, a man of authority, of royalty, asked a common, shamed, foreign woman to marry him. Her response was an affectionate but flighty, “Yes. But only on my own terms, I want to keep my old habits, my own hours and friends, dirty up the mansion, remain unrefined and by the way keep a few boy friends on the side.” She was the worst kind of fool. He set his terms; an exclusive relationship. She refused. But he was patient; he overcame her fears and payed off her debts. Eventually she came to love him and realize the worth he was offering to her. She woke up from her stupor, realized her pitiful state, and embraced the love of her generous suitor, too thankful to be ashamed.

Will we embrace the proposal of such a groom as Jesus or in return for his gracious payment of our sin debt will we flaunt our sin and other lovers in his face? God offers his church transformation, to be made into a radiant bride. A commoner turned princess couldn't undergo a more complete makeover and yet so often we as people and churches insist on remaining a filthy tramp as long as we can get our hands on some of the good stuff like grace, mercy, forgiveness, and oh yeah, love. The problem is the bride is operating under a lie; mercy doesn't come without repentance, or grace without humility.

And the most shocking thing of all? The bride has missed out on the greatest of the wedding gifts, union. The Prince has offered to make her in every reality one with himself, sharing his title, his status, his power, authority and wealth in every way. He's willing to hand over the signet ring for her to use in his name. Love, mercy, and grace aren't an end in themselves they are a means to an end, they are the nature and method in which complete union takes place. But these are the terms; the tramp must transform into a princess. He's willing to pay for the transformation, but she has to agree to it.

God has, from the moment of creation, gifted us with the picture of unity through marriage. The image of a bride and her Husband has been painted from Genesis to Revelation. Understanding the significance of being united with God illuminates the high value of marriage, likewise the union of marriage points back to the gracious gift of Jesus' union with the church. God structured a man and woman's relationship with each other to best reflect his character to us.

Thankfully purity is not a prerequisite of our union with Jesus, but it is a hallmark of it. Jesus knows exactly who he is offering himself to be united to; sinners. He's not shocked and his love is not overwhelmed. He offers himself to make his chosen one pure. His blood, his own righteousness, is the purifying agent. Jesus draws his bride to himself and away from other lovers, making her holy, which essentially means set apart for his own purpose. But then, once she is clean and has accepted the terms of his marriage proposal, he expects purity. And he should, it's only fitting. 

Why is the picture of marriage so sacred? Because nothing on earth depicts the union of Jesus to his beloved bride, the church, like a husband and wife do. Unity is the crux of the gospel and I wonder if we regularly miss the significance of that. I know I have. At the heart of God, at the heart of humanity, at the heart of relationship, at the heart of the gospel, at the heart of the bible, at the heart of the New Heaven and the New Earth (our eternal home, Rev. 21) is unity. At the fall unity with God and each other was broken, at the cross it was restored, in heaven it's consummated. "He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ." Ephesians 1:9-10

One day Jesus will sit down to feast with his bride at his wedding banquet. To have the Creator of the universe, the holy eternal God willingly offer to make us one with him is a scandalous grace. But he never said we could come on our terms, he expects full and total surrender. His love is a willingness to transform and redeem at a high cost to himself. His gift is generous beyond comprehension and available if we are willing to die to our own glory and live for his alone. What a joyful people we should be, united to our Beloved, loved beyond what we can even comprehend!

Let's consider how we can honor our marriages as the holy picture of divine unity that they are. Our hungry, fainting world needs the hope such truth can provide. 

Anticipation

I've been in a quiet, contemplative, prayerful place for the last week. I posted this as a facebook status last Thursday and it describes my heart well:

Sometimes wrestling with God leaves me limping, tender footed, and quiet. The hours spent in the vice grip of truth, seeking God's face, takes it's toll on my blustery confidence. I put my hand over my mouth, and walk out humbly. Aware that my confidence can only be in God's righteousness and never my own.

This week I'm praying to walk out in the confidence of God's truth and grace in my life. I'm living in a sense of anticipation. One thing I'm anticipating is a birth. Not a new baby in my family or friend circle, but a spiritual birth. My neighbor shows signs of being ready to be born into new life and I'm praying God will use me as an effective midwife. I'm praying to love her and her family with a compelling, honest, attractive love. I'm praying the Holy Spirit opens her heart to truth.

I offer her summer squash and a bible, both wrapped in life giving prayers. I've never witnessed a death to life, first gulps of grace, birth. But I imagine just like any baby's birth it's messy and bloody and there's crying and celebrating and the soft hush of the miraculous.

What are you anticipating this week? Do you expect the miraculous? Where do you hope to see truth born out in grace?

Adventures in Gardening ~ Maturing

I was out of town most of this week and when I came back my garden was full of good things to harvest! I picked squash, rosemary, and jalapeno.

I've learned two things from my little plants this week. The first thing I've learned is that plants mature at different times and require different tending to mature. My squash is going crazy and I've had to do very little to encourage it. I planted it, water it and it has sunlight. Whereas my tomatoes have needed closer tending. I've had to prune them regularly and give them the support of tomato cages. And while I have little green tomatoes growing they're taking longer to mature than the squash, even though they were planted at the same time. Those are just two examples, but all of my plants have grown at different rates and have different needs.

The other thing I've learned is that no matter how beautiful the fruit produced on a plant you still have to pick it. What a waste if the vegetables and herbs are never harvested. The day I came back from the trip my squash plants were full. I picked a basket of them and then again this morning there are several more squash needing harvesting. If I don't do it no one else will and they will rot and be wasted.

I think those are truths in life as well. We mature and grow at different speeds in the church. I'm not talking about believing different things, those are weeds that grow up among us and that's different. I'm talking about people rooted in truth and growing in grace. Sometimes we get impatient forgetting that we mature at different speeds and that some people need more attention than others. Grace is necessary. Those with a more mature faith must bear with, teach, support, encourage, and pray for those whose maturing process needs it. And lest we become prideful we should remember there's always someone bearing with us.

As we've been patient with each other, developing spiritual maturity, we must remember to harvest. If the fruit we, and others, produce isn't used it's wasted. People who have learned to encourage should encourage for the good of the body, those who teach should teach, those gifted at serving should serve, etc. If you know God has equipped you don't shrink back, bless the body with the nourishment that comes from using your gift for their good. And if you see a young Christian needing confidence to share their gift come alongside of them and show them how.

I love learning from my little garden. I'm amazed how time working in the dirt does my heart good. If you've had a garden what lessons have you learned from it?

Adventures in Gardening ~ Inviting

My Garden is pretty. It's welcoming and fresh and green. Things are blooming and happening. Each day something is bigger and more ripe than before. The herbs smell and taste wonderful.

Last night before church the children gathered to look at the garden, oohing and aahing over the growing things We live in the parsonage so children spill out into our yard, the line between home and church blurring, which I love. I told them which plant was what and they were excited about the squash almost ready to pick. I broke off a leaf from different herbs, told them the names, and let them smell their distinct fragrance.

My garden attracts bees and people, birds and butterflies. It's lovely and orderly and alive. Do we, growing things that we are, attract people to the garden of our lives, our families, our churches?

Before church last night I stood in the driveway talking to a neighbor. A young woman with fears, vague memories of a few childhood visits to church, and a hunger for something more than she knows now. As the children swarmed around the garden, she flitted around me, asking questions, hoping, crying. In the last two weeks her children have started crossing the street into our world and joining us for church. She was afraid they were an imposition distracting me from what was important. She doesn't want to disturb "the good thing" we have here and is afraid her family doesn't dress or behave formally enough.

I spoke to her fears as best I could. Seeking to ease and invite. I told her what church is for; we're for her, for her kids, for loving, not for rules or fancy, we're for people. And I told her she was welcome. That God loves her and she matters, that I know life is hard, that I'm here to listen if she needs to talk, that God loves her and Jesus has made a way. She cried and I told her I'm praying. And then I took her children and fed them and smiled at them and her shy little boy rewarded me with a rare grin.

Gardens are for feeding people and adding beauty. Does the garden of our life invite others in, to linger and be nourished, to have life, and be sustained? Is our life an invitation?

What is Unity

I wrote last week of 'Life Beyond the Cross' proposing that Christ's ultimate goal in his sacrifice on the cross was the unity of mankind with God and with each other. So, what is unity? Unity is not you agreeing with me, or me agreeing with you. Unity is us agreeing together with God about who he says he is and what he says is ultimate reality. Unity is founded on the bedrock of truth revealed to us in God's gift of his Word. Mess with God's Word and unity crumbles before it's even begun.

Unity is agreement on the essentials and grace in every other matter. What are the essentials? The truth of who Jesus is, what man is, God's definition of sin, the way of salvation, the infallibility of the Bible, our eternal destiny, the nature of the world, the nature of God, and God's call of holiness for his people, all are clearly set out in Scripture. There is plenty for us to agree on and if we focus on understanding and living in the truth that is revealed it will more than occupy our time.

If, however, you and I do not agree on the essentials and dispute what the word of God holds out as truth, we can have no unity. That doesn't mean we can't have grace for people who believe differently than what the Bible teaches. God certainly has grace, inviting all to enter into his life giving truth, and he sets the example for us. But without an agreement in God's truth you and I will not have one heart, we are not unified, and there is a difference.


Unity comes among brothers when we realize our spiritual life is not an individual enterprise. We are better together. Indeed we are only complete as Christians when we allow the Holy Spirit to join our hearts together as one just as we are joined by the Spirit to God. Realizing that our sin, our spiritual health, and our participation affects the health of the whole body will bring a new awareness of the value of each member.

Unity also comes when we recognize how highly God values his people being one, agreeing in the truth and deferring to one another over preferences. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:2-3

Solidarity comes as we live out our conviction of truth, as taught in God's word, in loving relationship. Unity is living as one people, committed to one another, loving the same God, empowered by the same Spirit, sharing the same holiness, headed to the same eternal destiny, seeking together lost people needing reconciliation with God and us, having the same desire to glorify and be satisfied by Jesus. Sounds wonderful doesn't it!

Whether the carpet is blue or burgundy, the music is too loud, the pew Bible's aren't KJV, the pastor's wife didn't say hi to you again, or coffee is allowed in the sanctuary, are all non-essentials. Let's look for the essentials we can agree on and celebrate together. This month how can we making every effort to live together in the bonds of peace?

Linking to the Grace Cafe:

Adventures in Gardening ~ Pruning

My adventures in gardening are beginning to pay off. I will be eating squash in no time and my cherry and Roma tomato plants are full of light green orbs!

Maggie, my trusty helper, choosing a tool to dig up some weeds.

The senior pastor at our church is part of a large farming family and has gardened for many years. I'm grateful for the help he's given me with the starting of my little plot. Yesterday he stepped over to the parsonage and we took a look at my garden. He helped me identify "suckers" on my tomato plants, breaking off the little branches at the joint, lightening their load. I had not been as vigorous in pruning as I should have been.

Squash blossom!

A gardening article says this about the need to prune tomato plants: "If unsupported, the increasing weight of filling fruit and multiple side branches forces the plant to lie on the ground. Once the main stem is horizontal, there is an increased tendency to branch. Left to its own devices, a vigorous indeterminate tomato plant can easily cover a 4- by 4-foot area with as many as 10 stems, each 3 to 5 feet long. By season's end, it will be an unsightly, impenetrable, disease-wracked tangle...A properly pruned and supported single-stem tomato plant presents all of its leaves to the sun. Most of the sugar produced is directed to the developing fruit, since the only competition is a single growing tip. The result is large fruits that are steadily produced until frost." (Pruning Tomatoes, Fine Gardening.com)

little Roma tomato!

What an amazing parallel for us to consider. Without the proper support and pruning we will become "an unsightly, impenetrable, disease-wracked tangle" ourselves. And that disease and mess will spread to the rest of the garden, to the family and church we're a part of. Suckers, excess stems shooting out from the main branch, sap the energy required to produce large, healthy, regular fruit. They can also compromise the strength of the main branch. In our lives beliefs and priorities that looked promising, green and flourishing, often turn out not to be.

Commitment to time in God's word and prayer, and relationship with fellow believers, offer us the support we need to avoid sprawling in an unsightly mess. Likewise let's ask our dear Gardener to prune suckers from our lives. In my own life facebook can be a terrible sucker, sapping time and energy from the greater priorities of parenting my children and a devotion to prayer.

What are some of the ways you are lacking support in your life? Have suckers taken over fundamental priorities? If so our faithful Gardener is willing to prune and re-order if we will submit to him. It is his great joy to lift us upright and strip away useless distractions in order to produce in us fruit for the good of the whole body.

Life Beyond the Cross

 

As we approach the time of Jesus crucifixion I've been pondering, what was on his heart on the way to the cross? John 17 gives us a birds eye view and it's breath taking.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." John 17:20-23

Stunning! Doesn't it just take your breath away? Like beautiful wrapping on a precious gift Jesus' prayer peals back the top layer of salvation revealing the heart of the gospel. Unity. Salvation is a doorway into a new life, an action, a change of status. But we are not saved for salvation's sake. We are saved for unity.

What amazes me is the standard Jesus holds out for us, "that they may be one as we are one." Did he just say that? Did he just hold up the perfect oneness of Three in One; Father, Son and Spirit, eternal unity? I believe he did. The purpose of the cross was to remove the barrier between us and God that our union could be complete. One heart, one mind, one mission, one purpose, one love with the Living God, and for that unity to be reflected and perfected in the church, a oneness of heart among brothers. "Then the world will know!"

What's on the other side of the tomb? Unity!

The entire book of Ephesians fleshes out this blueprint of unity for God's body, a reflection on earth of his unity with, well, himself. Is such unity possible in the church today? I've rarely, if ever, seen such a thing. It would certainly be unmistakable. But before I die it is my desire to have tasted for a time an entire group of people moving in tandem to the rhythm of our Father's heart, so connected to him and one another that they are mistaken for one person instead of many. I would sell everything I have and give up every other dream to live with such a people. And I think that's the point.

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-6

Will you and I be part of the answer to Jesus' prayer of unity for his disciples? What an honor and joy that would be!