Didn't See That Coming

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone” (John 8:7, NIV)

Sometimes in church, as in life, we get thrown a curveball that we just didn’t see coming, or that we vehemently disagree with. And in most cases, there’s nothing we can do about it but take the strike. Still, it doesn’t feel good to know that we are out of synch with our friends, family, and those we consider church leadership.

So this is where I usually give you the background on what’s got me all spun up. This is also the point in the blog where I usually point out where I, in my humble opinion, think we’ve gone wrong – Bob hasn’t done anything to help attendance, Jane doesn’t give to help pay bills, Tom isn’t even in church three out of four Sundays. But today I think discretion is the better part of valor. There are too many people with raw emotions who wouldn’t appreciate my airing dirty laundry for all to read. And, at some point I have to start practicing what I preach, right? So, let anyone who is without sin cast the first stone.

Instead, I have to trust God that His precepts are just as valid in the church as they are in life. Either God has raised up church leaders to administer the day-to-day details of the business of church, or His word is flawed. (Rom 13) Either God has raised up the pastor for the time in which we needed him, or His word is flawed. (Jer 13:15) Either God has given us leaders to make decisions for the congregation, or we’ve misunderstood His direction. (Acts 6)

So, while this blog entry is short and bittersweet, I hope to make a strong point. Hate and divide aren’t the sole purview of the world – they are alive and well inside God’s church as well. God’s word isn’t applicable only to our interactions with the “world” and we can’t pick and choose when to apply it. God is the God of the drug user and the sacrament taker. His precepts apply inside the chapel doors as rightly as outside it.

My challenge for myself today is to trust in God that the discord so recently sown and the heartache so freshly delivered will be for the betterment of His kingdom.

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV)