Fluidity

I am a new creation in Christ. When life starts bugging me and it feels futile; I repeat that phrase to myself. Any moment we breathe can be a moment for change, a moment for a new beginning. I am continually waiting in expectation for those moments; they frequently give me a thrill. They also frequently slip past me unnoticed.

We had a rainstorm this afternoon and the rain was pounding hard against my patio doors but on the other side of the rain the sun was shining brightly, no clouds in my line of vision. It is an unusual sight, at least in Northern Illinois. I was fascinated by it, but God wasn’t done yet. A while later after the rain ceased, I looked out those doors and noticed that my little deck was bathed in a glow of golden orange light. I stepped outside to explore the origin of the glow. The sun was setting off to my right and in the sky to my left was a bank of fluffy clouds that were aglow with that golden orange light. I attempted to capture the moment with pictures, but the intensity did not transfer to my camera. It seemed odd to me that those clouds were so bright when the sun was so low on the opposite side of the sky.

After much consideration I believe the moisture in the clouds reflected and magnified the light from the sun. It is a wonderful word picture of the Christian life, as believers we too are to reflect and magnify the Son! Standing on the deck I felt bathed in the warm glow of the light, it filled me with joy and wonder.

This is also the mission of the church; to reflect and magnify the love of God to the world at large. When I use the term “the church” I am referring to the body of believers not specifically the organized church. It is grievous to me how some men and women of the organized church have abused their position and given organized religion such a black eye. America has become a mission field for other countries to come to, when it used to be the other way around, a sorry state indeed.  I digress, back to the church at large. Odds are at some time in your life you have spilled some form of fluid, it is messy, it gets everywhere, it is difficult to contain. That is how I envision the church, as fluid, we are bathed in the love of God through Christ and we need to spill that love out into the world and get messy, get that love everywhere! We don’t have to form special groups or official ministries (not that you can’t), we are missionaries naturally. Our behavior with others serves as witness to God’s love, we develop relationships and serve others where their need is and tell our stories of how we see God in action. It is in relationships that we can share and be heard. If you have ever argued with someone with an opposing viewpoint you know how frustrating and futile it can be. Jesus knew this about the Pharisees and Sadducees and they frequently tried to test him, but an argument takes two sides and Jesus would not argue with them. He stood his ground, but he recognized when nothing good could come from the situation and refused to go there.  Check out Matthew 12:38; 16:1; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16 and John 8:6 for reference to his behavior with the church leaders.

            We often see in scripture that God’s love and grace are “poured out” which brings us back to the imagery of fluid. May the body of believers be the fluid of love and grace poured out onto the world, one person at a time until we experience a great revival in this land. We celebrate Independence Day this week, a day when we recognize the liberty we have. We have the liberty to pour out God’s love liberally, let’s get that stuff everywhere.

1 Timothy 1:13-15 “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.”