There’s a question I had pondered for so long that I can’t remember when the question originated.
“What is the purpose of the church?”
While trying to understand the church’s purpose, God has been showing me what faith looks like, whether within or without the church walls.
True faith is gritty.
Please hear me out.
I’m not saying you need to summit mountains, kill dinner, or have calloused, weathered hands to be a person with gritty faith (although this author appreciates calloused, weathered hands!).
The Word of God gives us numerous accounts of men and women who possess gritty faith. Gritty faith is not a character trait that might be evident to the eye at first glance.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, had gritty faith. God knew the depth of Mary’s faith. That’s why God chose Mary for one of the most meaningful life purposes imaginable—she knew her obedience would cost her dearly. By all appearances, Mary was “soft,” but she revealed her grits depth by being obedient to God’s will for her life.
And don’t forget Benaiah, one of King David’s brave fighters. In describing the grit of Benaiah, there is one sentence that says it all, “He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.” (2 Sam. 23:20(b)) I doubt Benaiah had time to think about whether or not he should go into the slippery, snowy pit to kill the lion. In a split-second decision, he wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed the lion with no regard for personal safety.
In the New Testament, in the City of Damascus, we meet a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered. (Acts 9:10)
Then the Lord tells Ananias to go where Saul (the man known for persecuting Christians) is waiting on Straight Street, lay his hands on Saul and pray for Saul’s sight.
Can you imagine the kind of faith required to obey such a command? Although Ananias questioned the Lord, and probably feared for his own life, he obeyed.
None of those mentioned above faced their situations within the walls of the church.
So I am left to conclude that church must be the place we meet together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The church must be the place found in the eye of the storm—a momentary place of safety and protection. A place where we pause to catch our breath, encourage one another, spur each other on, and love one another. Mostly, the church must be a place where we worship and adore God—together, as His family. Can you imagine the anticipation and excitement our Father must experience each time His family unites as His church?
“And he (Christ) is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” (Col. 1:18)
In this place called the church, we breathe life and hope, courage, and boldness into our fellow sojourners. When we leave the four walls, we go back into the storm, where our real life’s purposes are awaiting.
No two purposes are the same. Our arenas have purposes that were designed by the same God of Mary, Benaiah, and Ananias.
Our faith is the only thing we possess which we will take with us to eternity—it is the essence of who we are.
I want my faith to be as gritty as Benaiah’s hands, yet as soft as the face of Mary.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV)
Stay the Course…
Sheila
