This past Sunday (June 24, 2012), I preached about the
necessity for the church to practice her Christian faith. So now, I ask – how noisy is our church?
Think about the last time you heard someone practicing an instrument.
Do you remember hearing an out of tune guitar? Do you remember hearing a trumpet’s notes
playing a little off key? Practicing
something means at times playing it a little wrong. We learn by playing it wrong to know what
does not work. We also see the
progression of growth as we look at one’s ability to play the first month of
learning compared to playing the instrument for a year. Even after a year, people can still play a
little off. There is always room for
growth in playing an instrument. There
is always room for growth in practicing the Christian faith, in following Christ. Do we hear the same ‘wrong’ noises in the
church?
When someone is practicing the Christian faith, there will
be times we make mistakes. There will be
times we play a little off. The
Christian faith is a journey, and we get to share this journey together! As the Body of Christ, we get to offer each other
encouragement along this journey. There
are very few people to learn how to play an instrument without the aid of a
teacher or mentor. The same is true for
the Christian faith. We need each other
to faithfully follow Christ.
The church can be a place of encouragement for those times
we need it. The church can also be a
place of encouragement for those times we need to give it. We also need to be encouraged to play our
faith and not simply work it. You cannot
work a guitar. The piano is to be
played. Practicing and playing the Christian
faith does not minimize the task.
Instead, we internalize Christ’s invitation to follow him and begin the
journey by embracing the ups and downs, by being faithful amidst our misunderstandings. It is the sounds of faithfulness that sustain
us during our misunderstandings that we find Christ’s love and welcoming grace.
The church should be the nosiest place in town with the most
awful sounds bursting forth into the community. So, I ask again – how noisy is
our church?
May you experience Christ’s love, so you can in return show
Christ’s love to others.
Danny
dwr
