Back in
June, a group of us from our church enjoyed a Dayton Dragons game on a Sunday
afternoon. Although it was a hot day, we had a great time! It was a memorable
game for me because it was the first time we had ever taken our grandson Tanner
to a baseball game. And he liked it! He liked the hot dogs; he liked the ice
cream; he liked the “baseball men” who wore numbers on their backs; and he
especially liked the bounce house in the children’s area!
After the
game was over, all the children were invited to come down to the playing field
and run around the bases. They even got to high-five the dragon mascot Heater
at second base! Of course, Tanner was thrilled; and he scampered around those
bases like his pants were on fire! As I watched him run, my imagination took
over. I saw Tanner not as a four-year-old, but as a grown man, a professional
baseball player, heading from first base to second after hitting a line drive
right between the third baseman and the shortstop. I imagined the crowd
roaring, and his team cheering him on in the dugout. And then, I returned to
the present. Tanner was once again just a little boy wearing a Cincinnati Reds
jersey.
We do
that all the time, don’t we? We imagine our children as adults. And whether we
see them as farmers or bankers or doctors or dancers, we envision them as
successful. And it’s not just parents who do that – grandparents and uncles and
aunts do it, too. In our eyes, the future is rosy and full of potential,
because our children are full of potential. Nothing is going to keep them down!
And the best parents allow their children to decide what their own futures will
be. Their parents don’t dictate those futures; they help them to shape it. Now,
some parents are obsessed with molding their children into the image that the
parents want. Maybe it’s a father who insists that his son play football when
that son would much prefer to take art lessons; or a mother who insists that her
daughter go to cosmetology school when what the girl really wants to do is take
pre-med classes. That rarely works out very well. In the very best case, the
interests of the child, the potential of the child, and the wisdom of the parents
all work together to guide that child into a future that is fulfilling and
rewarding.
God works
with us the very same way. God doesn’t dictate exactly who we should be, or
exactly how we should live our lives. God directions to us are actually rather
general. “Love God before all else. Love your neighbor as yourself. Follow the
example that Jesus gave us. Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” Those
are our instructions: love, humility, and justice. We can do those things in
all kinds of ways! But that’s where the rub starts. We’re never sure exactly
how to follow God’s instructions. The good news, though, is that God wants to partner
with us as we discern exactly how to live out our Christian lives. And God is
the kind of parent who knows our potential, listens to what we want, and then
guides us into ways of living that are not only right for us as individuals,
but also right for us as Christians! The old saying “There are many roads to
Rome” is absolutely true when it comes to living Christian lives!
Many people,
however, don’t realize that God works in partnership with us. Instead, they
think that God is one of those dictatorial parents who decides in advance what his
children should be doing, and then sits back and judges us when we don’t live
our lives exactly that way. Those folks worry a lot. They don’t want to make
any mistake that might make God angry. But God gives us a lot of freedom. God
acts a lot like one of those GPS systems that give you directions. These days,
lots of new cars have them built right in. When you want to get somewhere, you
plug in your destination and a helpful voice suggests the roads you might want
to take. But if you decide to take a different turn, that voice doesn’t say,
“You idiot! You went the wrong way! I’ll talk to you again when you get back on
track!” At least, mine doesn’t say that (fortunately)! Mine simply says quietly,
“Recalculating route,” and offers new directions to help me get where I want to
go.
So, am I
saying that God doesn’t have a plan for us? Of course not! God’s plan includes
love, peace, joy, and fulfillment in the lives of each one of us. Those plans
aren’t just for God’s favorite few, either. Those plans are for everyone! That’s our ultimate
destination, no matter what roads we take to get there. God plans for us to
live lives that are loving, joyful, and fulfilled. And God has the same kind of
plan our churches, although the destination is a little bit different. God’s
plan for the church of Jesus Christ is for it to engage in mission and in
ministry. I don’t think that God gives a hoot what kind of music we sing in
worship, or how many potluck suppers we have, or even how many rear ends are
sitting in the pews on Sunday morning. But God does care that we are spreading the good news of God’s love, and
making disciples of those who have decided to follow Jesus Christ. We can
partner with God to do those things in the very same way that we can partner
with God to live our lives individually.
But how
does that work? I’m glad that you asked! Churches can do the very same thing
that individuals do when they are trying to discern what path they should
follow in life. They listen to their own inner voices, and to the wisdom of
others. They take stock of their own potential – things that they are good at,
as well as things that they might need a little help with. They look around them
at the needs of the world. And then, they try to match all those things. Fred
Buechner famously observed, “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness
meets the world’s deep need.” How better to discern what path we should follow,
either as an individual or as a congregation?
We’re
going to be doing just those things during the next several months as we join
in New Beginnings discussion groups. We’ll be discerning our vocation as a
congregation: the place where what we love to do meets the needs of the
communities around us. I have no doubts at all that God has called this church
to ministry. I have no doubts at all that this church has done great ministry
in the past. I have no doubts at all that this church is doing good ministry
right now. But that ministry can be improved; and when it is, I also have no
doubts that other people will want to join us in doing it! Of course, we have
doubts as we look at ourselves. We are concerned that there are very few young
people in our congregation. We are concerned that older people are no longer
able to be the church leaders that they once were. But I hope that we also see
potential. I do! I see energy and enthusiasm for mission. I see people ready to
do new kinds of ministry, although they may not be quite sure how to go about
it. And I see young adults who are stepping up to be the leaders of the future.
Yes,
friends, God has plans for us. God is eager to partner with us as we step out
onto new roads that will take us into the future. God will help us realize our
potential as we live out God’s plans for us here at Nashville UCC. When God
looks at us, I’m convinced that God sees us not only as we are, but also as we
might be some day as the Spirit guides us into the future. Thanks be to God!
No comments:
Post a Comment