"Cannot Keep You"
Gungor

They tried to keep you in a tent
They could not keep you in a temple
Or any of their idols, to see and understand

We cannot keep you in a church
We cannot keep you in a Bible
Or it's just another idol to box you in
They could not keep you in their walls
We cannot keep you in ours either
For you are so much greater

Who is like the Lord
The maker of the heavens
Who dwells with the poor
He lifts them from the ashes
And He seats them among princess
Who is like the Lord

We've tried to keep you in our tents
We've tried to keep you in our temples
We've worshiped all our idols
We want all that to end
So we will find you in the streets
And we will find you in the prisons
And even in our Bibles and churches

Who is like the LordThe maker of the heavens
Who dwells with the poor
He lifts them from the ashes
And He seats them among princes
Who is like the Lord

We cannot contain, cannot contain
The glory of your name
We cannot contain, cannot contain
The glory of your name
We cannot contain, cannot contain
The glory of your name

Who is like the Lord
You took me from the ashes
And you healed me from my blindness
Who is like the Lord

 

As I write this post I am at a car dealership waiting for my car to have its routine service.  It's not that bad.  They have free wifi and I have set up an office of sorts to work on writing and studying.  Every so often all of our vehicles need a service or a tune-up.  When I turned 16 and got my first car the leader of our youth group was a mechanic and gave me some solid advice.  "Change the oil every 3000 miles and take care of your car and you should have it for a long time."  The advice was great and that car lasted longer than I thought it could.  

Well cars aren't the only thing that need routine service.  We do too!  We need to take ourselves.  I mean this in the physical, social, and spiritual sense.  Talking about how this plays out in the physical is for a different time and a different blog.  Today I'm thinking on the spiritual side of life.  I know, I know all of this should be one thing, not compartmentalized.  However, I want to take our spiritual lives out for a second examine it and then we can have everything join together again.

When people talk about taking care of our spiritual lives we mostly will talk about quiet time, solitude, sabbath, reading our Bible, prayer, meditation, listening to God, and serving others.  And all of these help build and maintain our spiritual existence.  All of these are important.  So if this is what it is, what is there left to talk about?

How about our gifts?  This past Sunday I spoke about being useful for the Kingdom (What's The Use?) and discovering our spiritual gifts and using them for the Kingdom.  The response and discussions have been amazing.  You have to admit, it feels good to find out what God has given you and being affirmed in His kingdom work.  I know I felt good to know how God could use me and from what people have shared with me, it made them feel good too. 

Not only that but there was another revelation by some after that sermon and discussing the idea of spiritual gifts. What do we do with those gifts that are in us, but aren't the strongest?

Every Sunday as I take my place on the stage to deliver a message for those who have joined together to worship God at UCC in Conway, AR, I look out into a crowd full of faces and silently pray a short prayer.  Work through me Lord!

It is quite interesting all the things a preacher, or any public speaker for that matter, sees while they are speaking to a crowd.  I almost hate to share this best kept secret.  I see people's eyes, their facial expressions, head-nodding, uncomfortable body language, way too comfortable body language (sleeping), people getting up and leaving, walking around, or even arriving in the middle of the sermon.  I see people who are tracking with my message and those lost in a world all their own.  And while this helps me as speaker to either add some inflection to bring attention back to the message or explain something a bit more to help the idea come to life, it is not the greatest thing I see.

The best thing that I see when I stand before a people who have made all the necessary sacrifices to come meet God, Jesus, Spirit, and Church that morning is the countenance of Christ.  I see the body of Christ!  I see black,/white, catholic/protestant, young/old, female/male, sufferers/blessed, survivors/thrivers, strong/weak, gatherers/missionaries, republicans/democrats/independents, liberals/conservatives, and churched/unchurched.  It inspires me and should inspire you that on one hour on a Sunday each week such a diverse group can enter the same building and find a common bond in Jesus Christ.  They are all walking on a similar path dedicated to a lifelong journey with Christ.  Some have been on that path all their life and there are others who have to yet to decide if this will be the journey for them or not.

And why is this a place of such unity in the face of incredible diversity?  Because whether we hold the same ideals, desires, interests, backgrounds, or experiences we have the same spouse; Christ.  The church is His bride and this common factor draws us together to not only be inspired by His word, His worship, and His people but also because of His Spirit.  When we come together we can all share how Christ has wept with us, cheered with us, challenged us, and saved us!  

There is one thing I know about the church.  The church is bigger than any individual involved.  The church is at its best when it comes together to celebrate, lament, and serve as one body.  A body that is local and global.  A body that is united and yet diverse.  A body that understands that Jesus has already come and is yet to come again.  A body that lives because it is part of the Kingdom today and the Kingdom that is yet to be fully realized. 

So when I stand up to preach this Sunday and I say, "Work through me, Lord!" I will see you nodding and nodding off, but more importantly I will see an incredible set of individuals who have joined together for a journey of following Christ and living Kingdom life together.  And believe me, it is a sight to behold.  It's the best view in the building!

The other morning my son, Brody (5 years old), put his shirt on and not only was it inside out, but it was on backwards.  Usually I would say something to him, laugh with him about it, be silly, and then we would fix it.  This time, for whatever reason, I just let it go.  Some time that afternoon I noticed he had his shirt right side out and the tag was in the back.  I asked him about it and he told me that he noticed it and fixed it.  This is atypical of Brody who would usually want us to fix it for him.  Needless to say I was surprised and proud that he took his own initiative to fix his shirt.  It's the small things, people!

I have had this blog post in mind for some time.  The story of my son is a simple reminder that when we have eyes to see, we can see what is really meant for us in the Kingdom of God.  However, Jesus didn't really teach us to wear our shirts right side out and the tag in the back.  That was the message of the Pharisees.  Jesus wouldn't disagree that keeping the law of God is the right thing to do, but what Jesus saw as the law and what the Pharisees saw as the law were world(view)s apart.  The Pharisees could only see the law and the standard to live by from what was handed down for generations, since the days of Moses.  Jesus understood the law, but could only see (and know) the heart of God and the intent of the law.  Jesus knew that the law could never save God's people only an ultimate sacrifice could do that.

So, in many ways Jesus taught and lived out an upside down, inside out, tag-in-the-front, gospel.  But Jesus didn't teach and live this gospel to be noticed or simply for the practice of being unique, innovative, or different.  Jesus was interested in bringing heaven to earth.  Jesus grew weary of a law-filled life that actually would result in death.  The kind of life where joy is sucked from the marrow and leaves its people brittle and eventually broken, irreparable, unsalvageable.  The kind of life that when brokenness and sin enter and the pretty package of life that is promised by keeping the law, disintegrates leaving law-only followers blown away like chaff by the wind.

The gospel, good news, that Jesus brought, though new in approach and rhetoric in His day, lasts!  It creates a saving surge throughout the body giving hope, joy, and LIFE!  His gospel is the heart of God.  Where the law does not dissipate, but rather grows with deeper roots into the very nature of God.  The law become fulfilled through Christ and no longer does the law become the THING, but Jesus does.  We see God's heart through Christ.  We see that what God intended through the law is that His people would live upside down, inside out compared to those who live for the broken world.  Some believe that this means we must excavate ourselves from culture and live in gated isolation so that we aren't corrupted by the culture that invades our perfect Christian world.  Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Pharisees in scripture were after.  That was not Jesus' quest.  Remember he was the one who touched lepers, cast out demons in a graveyard, "worked" on the sabbath, called a tax collector to be his apostle, and often ate in the homes of tax collectors and sinners.  Jesus did not absolve himself from culture, but in reality immersed himself in the culture without changing who He was in God.

If we want to live the gospel.  We will be better off immersing ourself in culture and entering into relationships with people in our world.  When we choose this path we must keep our center, our core, strong.  Our relationship with Jesus will be tested and we must keep it first.  Then as we meet people, establish relationships, eat at their tables, God will use our stories and His gospel that is living in us to show a new path.  We must remember it is not our responsibility to manipulate an outcome for God.  We will be light bearers and God will take care of the rest.  Those that don't know Christ or have given up on him will appreciate our time, our words, our life that we are sharing with them.  It is those who stand on piety, law, and isolation that might attack our actions and maybe even our motive.  If so, then we are in good company.  And yes we will wake up in the morning and everyone will look and only see that we have put on our shirt inside out with the tag in the front.  But Jesus will see a follower, The Spirit will see thin space, and God will see a kingdom-meeting-earth-with-a-sweet-kiss moment. 

Who knows, maybe one day I will stand in the pulpit with my shirt inside out and tag in the front.