More Thoughts

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(20250527) I have been upset and depressed about the church for a long time. I could not seem to get past it. Recently I began to see some light through the tunnel. I believe that my vision for the church is aligned with the Lord’s vision for the church. What is and was not aligned is my schedule for the church, and the Lord’s schedule. My schedule is measured in seconds, minutes and days, the Lord’s schedule is measured in years and centuries! That is a big mismatch. I want results now, and the Lord sees the results on a broader scale. I began to see this as I read and reflected. Two recent books (“In the shadow of His wings”, and “With God in Russia”) made me realize that no matter what turmoil is in our lives and in the world, the Lord is working somewhere and with someone to make his plan work in the long run. The stories describe situations that should border on despair and yet show the Lord at work. I realize on almost a daily basis that the Lord gives me a smile and a touch of grace. Yet I let it slip by because I am looking for an explosion and don’t see one. I can almost see the Lord smiling at my impatience and saying in due time my will, will be done. You may not be alive to see it but know nonetheless that it is in motion. In my heart I know this, but in my brain I have trouble waiting. I am surrounded by hungry people. People who hunger to work for the Lord and to grow in his garden. And I see a church that seems bent on plowing under those tender shoots. My reading of church history and reflection tell me that it has been this way almost from the start. Yet that history also shows that the Lord always prevails. Our human weaknesses are met by the Lord’s love and graces as directed through his chosen instruments which are not always those chosen by the hierarchy. What the church does, and what the church should do are often at odds. If I could figure out why that is the case I would be much more content. In real estate, the mantra is “location, location, location”. In religion the mantra needs to be “trust, trust, trust”.