We all tend to compartmentalise our lives. There is a private compartment, a public one, a work one and a church one, and, for the guys especially, there is often a traffic or commuting compartment. Each little box imposes a specific set of characteristics on us, relating to our posuture, our face, our smile, our demeanor, our relationships, our space and so on.
In the context of church life, it has always been our way to go to church and come away again. Jesus even suggested it would be so when He said my sheep go out and come in and find pasture. That said, the idea of a time and place religion was discredited by Jesus, when He said to the woman at the well, "We will no longer worship in Jerusalem or Samaria, for God seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and Truth."
The word Truth in this context, means Reality, which gives us some sense of what God defines as true worship. He is not calling for performance, where we step into the churchy compartment of our lives and do church for a while before stripping away our masks and returning to everyday life. Rather He wants our church life to give expression to our reality and to be more about a spiritual intercourse than a physical presence. It is not about going to church, its about being the church of God.
About this I have much to say, suffice to say that too many of us are sweating to keep these different compartments, constituencies and demands in play. It would make far more sense for the daily workplace to be representative of His kingdom. It would be far more fulfilling for us to do work that furthers the objectives of His kingdom, so that my life has a seamless connection with that kingdom. By that I mean that my work life should be integral to my spiritual life, for it reflects my role as a witness in society, my role in the economy of God and my role as a member of the body of Christ.
John Bevere makes the point that church communities which live Kingdom-Centric lives, not only experience prosperity and progress in their churches, but also experience reciprocal progress and prosperity in the businesses and families that make up such communities. More than that, a Kingdom mentality provokes all to contribute whilst leaving no one struggling to survive, for such models are inclusive and progressive.
Let me put it like this: If you were doing work everyday that put food on the table and met your domestic needs, whist in every other respect being of eternal consequence in terms of touching lives and furthering kingdom objectives, would you be as tired every day? Would you still feel your life is a futile waste? Would you still reach the grave with a sense of worthlessness? Would you thrive in advesity?
I will let you fill in the gaps ...
(c) Peter Eleazar @ http://www.4u2live.net/
No comments:
Post a Comment