Grace & Home

It's crowded in a worship today as she slips in, trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
But if we are the body, why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body, why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

A traveler is far away from home. He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tell him that his chances are better out on the road
But if we are the body, why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body, why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
 

But Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the body of Christ!

But if we are the body, why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing? Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body, why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

Casting Crowns, "If We Are The Body"

It's a phrase that is a well-known, often-used part of contemporary Christian-ese: "home church" or "church home." It is meant to symbolize the body of Christ being united as a family, caring for one another as we would our own flesh and blood, giving of our time and resources.

Serving,

sharing,

and dare I say it?

Making sacrifices.

Like the first church, the new koinonia.

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity, all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

This was the passage that the pastor spoke on this past Sunday at the church we visited.

"Me" versus "We"

What kind of world do we live in?

The first church was comprised of over three THOUSAND people. 3000. And the Lord kept bringing more. But they were committed to learning together, to singing loudly together in worship and joy, to sharing of all their earthly belongings so that no one would be in need, to opening up their homes and eating together.

They remembered that none of this is about us, but that it's all about God's immense grace.

Jesus paid much too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come. 

N and I needed to hear this message this past weekend. These past few months have been long ones as we have searched diligently for a new "church home." We have written countless emails, made phone calls, and been disappointed when people have failed to follow through with us.

This one has been different.

We prayed for a diverse church. This is one.

We prayed for enthusiastic, genuine, heartfelt worship. It was there.

We prayed for solid, Bible-based teaching. We heard it.

We prayed for friendly faces to introduce themselves by name. They did. 

I have had three emails since I sent an inquiry out on Sunday evening about Bible study and a moms group. And two phone calls!

We didn't realize quite how much we have been yearning for this. Since we left New York, we haven't heard a peep from any of the staff at our old church.

It has broken our hearts.

This was a church where we invested a lot of our time, emotions, and spiritual gifts. It was one where we tried to be very intentional about building relationships, even when it was hard and we just didn't feel like trying anymore. It was one where both of us gave and gave and gave of ourselves.

It is a church planted in the middle of aloof, north-eastern cultural soil.

And aren't we supposed to be living counter-culturally?

I had the thought yesterday that even our doctors continue to take responsibility for helping us care for our bodies until we find new ones. Our chiropractor made sure to let us know to call him once we were settled so he could help us find a new one who would care for us with the same diligence he did.

Why aren't His arms reaching? Why aren't His hands healing?

We have been praying for soft hearts so that we won't let our disappointment prevent us from diving in head-first in making new relationships at a new church.

Each morning, when I sit down with my first cup of coffee, I usually read my Bible first and then journal. This morning, I felt prompted to journal first.

The Lord showed me this: "As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly - not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God" (1 Peter 5:1b-2).

And I said, "Lord! This doesn't help! If anything, it makes me feel worse that they don't care for us!"

And He said, "My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God's grace for you. Stand firm in this grace" (1 Peter 5:12b).

Grace.

Grace enough to soothe our hearts. Grace enough to forgive. Grace enough to bless instead of lashing out.

In my devotional book today, Angie Smith says this:

I want you to know I am praying for you as I write -- asking the Lord to remind you right now that there is a reason you have left that life behind. It has been swallowed by grace. And you need not miss what He has for you by believing there is something worth going back for. Leave it be. The Lord has told you where to go, and it's time to walk. Eyes straight ahead, tangled in the spectacular love of a Savior Who wants nothing less for you than the summit. ...He is who He says He is. He is whispering if you care to listen ... "Flee, love. flee and never look back."

Choosing to run from the temptation to become bitter in my disappointment, to become resentful.

Choosing to run towards grace.

Grace is a much more beautiful place in which to dwell than bitterness.