I wish churches would throw away the clock.
When I daydream, I picture some stern looking deacon standing at the door with an offering plate, telling people as they come in to 'give' of their watches. Sure, you can have them back when you leave. But for just a portion of your day, time is Gods and Gods alone.
This time, has nothing to do with what time your brisket should be coming out of the oven. It has nothing to do with whether you're supposed to take your child to a birthday party at 1pm. It has nothing to do with what time your kids have to get up the next morning, or how tired they might be. It has to do with God. And that's it.
I'd like to see the standard become having the anointing fall, that special anointing that seems to flood once you've pressed in, and only once you've pressed in. And I'd like to see the standard become rigidly held to as closely as we hold onto our clocks. I'd like to see each person stubbornly stand firm, forsaking their timeline, forsaking their expectation of what time they'll get out of church, and standing firmly and expectantly, waiting for that Spirit.
When I've felt those sweet moments in a group setting (too few a time), I've come to imagine that maybe that is what it felt like when the waters were troubled at the pool of Bethesda.
But much like I complained a few days ago, it takes too long.
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In time and worship.
Mal 3:8 (except my italicized rewrite)
I confess. I'm a thief.
I too easily throw out terms like God is due our lives. But as a single person temporarily raising a 3 yr old, while working from 8-5 let me tell you, my life is not primarily spent on God. If I were Adam, I'd probably find myself passing rainchecks to God most nights that He wanted to take me for a walk. I'm busy tonight God, the laundry needs to be done and tomorrow is lunchable day at the daycare so we need to run to the grocery store. I'm afraid I barely going to have time to give Little One a bath, much less have time to sit and wait for Your presence. If You'd only get here quicker. I might could hold off returning that phone call for 15 minutes, so You and I could take a walk.
Even as I just typed that though, the understanding hit me. I'm not waiting on Him to get here. He's waiting on me to get there.
Oh brother.
When I daydream, I picture some stern looking deacon standing at the door with an offering plate, telling people as they come in to 'give' of their watches. Sure, you can have them back when you leave. But for just a portion of your day, time is Gods and Gods alone.
This time, has nothing to do with what time your brisket should be coming out of the oven. It has nothing to do with whether you're supposed to take your child to a birthday party at 1pm. It has nothing to do with what time your kids have to get up the next morning, or how tired they might be. It has to do with God. And that's it.
I'd like to see the standard become having the anointing fall, that special anointing that seems to flood once you've pressed in, and only once you've pressed in. And I'd like to see the standard become rigidly held to as closely as we hold onto our clocks. I'd like to see each person stubbornly stand firm, forsaking their timeline, forsaking their expectation of what time they'll get out of church, and standing firmly and expectantly, waiting for that Spirit.
When I've felt those sweet moments in a group setting (too few a time), I've come to imagine that maybe that is what it felt like when the waters were troubled at the pool of Bethesda.
But much like I complained a few days ago, it takes too long.
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In time and worship.
Mal 3:8 (except my italicized rewrite)
I confess. I'm a thief.
I too easily throw out terms like God is due our lives. But as a single person temporarily raising a 3 yr old, while working from 8-5 let me tell you, my life is not primarily spent on God. If I were Adam, I'd probably find myself passing rainchecks to God most nights that He wanted to take me for a walk. I'm busy tonight God, the laundry needs to be done and tomorrow is lunchable day at the daycare so we need to run to the grocery store. I'm afraid I barely going to have time to give Little One a bath, much less have time to sit and wait for Your presence. If You'd only get here quicker. I might could hold off returning that phone call for 15 minutes, so You and I could take a walk.
Even as I just typed that though, the understanding hit me. I'm not waiting on Him to get here. He's waiting on me to get there.
Oh brother.
4 comments:
Great post. So true!
I am right there with Mark, Great Post.
give me your watches!
oh man...do not get me goin!
my dream of the perfect worship gathering.
if we could only put all the "stuff" aside and worship.
i guess that will be heaven!
we all have good intensions in our desires, sure we do. but, we also have many different ideas of how things should look. humans do not give that up very easily. i think that is why God made it very clear that we are to Love one another.
very good post, woman!
I like your standard! That kind of dynamic shouldn't be exceptional but normal, not irregular, but standard.
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