MY NEW LIFE ON THE ROCK

Today I was continuing my week long cleaning and room organization in preparation for our neighborhood horseback ride and potluck on Saturday. Since most of the people who are coming to my house have never been inside I thought I had best get our office and downstairs bedroom uncluttered and looking nice. We have lived here almost 2 years and I am JUST NOW getting around to getting the office area completely organized and the downstairs still had stuff lying around from Christmas last year. Pathetic, I know. Another confirmation my life has been too busy for too long!

As I was putting things away downstairs I opened the closet and noticed that all my ministry file boxes were neatly stacked one on top of the other with blankets, extra pillows and other things neatly placed on top of the waist high stack of boxes. Each box was properly stacked and labeled Crossculture, Small groups, Puppet Team and The CORE. It was tidy, organized and looked very secure as the door slid open. I decided that I had best go through all these ministry boxes to clean them out and organize them in such a way that I can hand them over to the youth ministry to be available to assist those who will take over the ministries I was in charge of. By accident, I leaned against one of the boxes and everything on top came crashing down to the floor. Hummm…..I guess all the stuff piled on the stack of ministry boxes was not as secure as they looked. Just then it dawned on me…..my life was once balanced on the ministries I worked in. Noticed I said it was balanced on the MINISTRIES, NOT on Jesus. The stuff piled on the boxes would not have fallen if they were stacked on the floor…the foundation. My life MUST be placed on the foundation of Christ, not on ministry and not on church…. on JESUS.

I think this whole revelation was spurred when I saw the stack of boxes because I had just finished my reading for this week’s Bible study/book discussion of Rob Bell’s book Velvet Elvis. He said “The goal isn’t to bring everyone’s work into the church; the goal is for the church to be these unique kinds of people who are transforming the places they live and work and play because they understand the whole earth is filled with the kavod of God. God isn’t in one building only. Doing things for God happens all the time, everywhere.”

For the first time in my life I am stepping out without the church, without a ministry label, without a title, without a bunch of my Christian friends around me and without an evangelistic agenda and I am going to just love my neighbors. Two weekends ago Susie and I took our love for horseback riding and reached out to my neighbors who share the same love and 7 of us went horseback riding together. We did not go with the intention of saving lost souls, we just wanted to connect with people, get to know them and love them just to love them. We will do that again on Saturday with our second horseback ride as a group. Will God move in this new group of horse lovers? Maybe. Will we set up every ride to witness? No. Another Rob Bell quote I love from Velvet Elvis is “I love how Paul put it in Colossians: Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. He is teaching people to live as Christians, and then whatever they do will be sacred, holy work.” If our lives are firmly built on Christ then everything we do will bring glory to Him, everything we do is worship and the people around us will see Jesus. Living Jesus outside the four walls. Wow! Okay Lord, lead the way!