As a
result of reading a few books, listening to a few sermons, being part of a
tension and living life.
So, church. The body, anyone? This morning at times left me
saying, “Jesus? I love Jesus.” The Word of God became flesh and dwelled among
us. We have seen his glory—the glory of the one and only, come from the Father,
full of grace and truth. The head of the body for a reason. Incredible imagery
to think of the fragility of the brain and its helplessness without the
members. (Especially relevant as my umbrella
nearly gave me a concussion this morning before church. No joke.) Reliant on
signals from nerves throughout the body, the brain controls and unifies the
actions of not only complex, differentiated systems, but organs and cells
within those systems. This is a
beautiful picture, but as I was reading in Disappointment with God, a risk of
sorts, because when we use imperfect people to represent and embody a perfect
God, we still show the brokenness of “holding this treasure in jars of clay to
show that this all-surpassing greatness comes not from us but from God.”
Holiness is what we strive for, not as what we do or pushing our way, but
rather, as a far-away friend reminded Sarah and I, by “being” in the midst of
“doing.” Who you are is to be celebrated in
Christ (birthdays?!). Moreover, God delights
to show love to His children. Parts of this picture are discipline from the
Lord: direct spankings for those he loves, along with suffering and difficulty,
not necessarily the glamorous “perfect” you might imagine. Rather, the broken,
weary, redeemed, whole, joy never-ending, abundant life. This means, we don’t
make the gospel more or less offensive; we stand for Truth. The Truth shall set
you free. Choose your battles wisely and fight them hard, first on your knees.
Sarah and I also shared a joyful time, well many joyful,
effervescent moments, but also a session of pontificating about heaven and the
glory and joy that will be there in fulfillment of all we are and the glimpses
we receive here in doing “what we were meant to do” at times as well as the
gifting of all that we are and have, completely, in the presence of our Savior.
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