have you…

Posted on by Will

Have you ever dreamed of something…

Something? something more than a place or thing? something that words can’t define and feelings can’t capture?

have you ever wondered where that comes from? is it real? is it something that can be satisfied?

do you wonder if you will find it? whatever that “it” is?

  • strych9design

    I once wondered what “it” was. “It” was going to change the way cities were built, and would be to the automobile what the automobile was to the horse and buggy.

    Turns out “it” was the Segway scooter, and as far as I can tell, it hasn’t displaced the automobile or changed the way cities are built … matter of fact, some cities have banned them.

    Very often, I think, dreams can be like that … they are over-hyped, and then can’t live up to the hype if and when they are realized. That’s not always true, of course … but there is a danger in being overly pre-occupied with something you don’t have.

    So, what are you getting at, if anything in particular?

  • pastorwill

    When I wrote the above post the it was something intangible that is meant to be a jumping off place to get me to thinking about the nature of desire for things or ‘its’.

    If you watch tv at all in the last year, ebay has done a ingenious ad campaign that features a ad campaign that says “ebay the place to find whatever ‘it’ is.”

    I am becoming more convinced daily that God intends for the church to be part of fulfilling that ‘it’ in peoples lives. Church is suppose to be something more than just another ‘it’ in our lives. Church shouldn’t be just “it is the place we go” or “it is a group of believers like me” but something much deeper.

    Perhaps it is even suppose to be a remarkable living ever growing organism that is made of people designed to fulfill the various ‘it’ needs in our hearts as much as any earthly thing can do. Perhaps it is suppose to be a connecting place of the person with their community. Perhaps the Church should say “Church the place to find whatever ‘it’ is.”

    It is just a thought though. :)

  • strych9design

    Ahh yes, eBay. I love their advertisements on Google. Search for “grenade launchers”, and get a “Grenade Launchers For Less … Looking for grenade launchers? Find exactly what you want today!” eBay ad.

    We’ve all (probably) heard the age-old cliche “Everybody has a God-shaped hole in their [heart/life] that only He can fill” … so you’re definitely on to something, I’d say. But, here’s the flip side to that …

    5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
    6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
    7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
    8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

    So … going back to my previous post … fallen man naturally does everything within his power to fill the “God-sized hole” with anything but God. Again, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.

    But … here’s the thing.

    Whatever “it” is that the person who is dead in their sins is looking for, it’s the wrong thing. That’s not to say it’s not imporant … but let’s start here:

    1. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes …” (Rom. 1.16) The very words of the Gospel are that which God uses to vivify us who are dead in our sins.

    2. In the LCMS, prior to the Gospel reading each Sunday, we sing “Alleluia, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life …” reflecting Peter’s answer to Christ when Christ asked him if they (the disciples) would also leave like many others who were no longer following Him.

    3. Who is the caretaker of “the words of eternal life” (the Gospel, Holy Scripture) if not the church herself?

    I could go on and on with more metaphors concerning Scripture … but the point is, we, in the church, have the Gospel, the Powerful Word of God, the Words of Eternal Life. Those Words should come from our pulpits each and every Sunday …

    So, yes, the church has a vital role to play in fulfilling the “it” you’re talking about …

    Once the Gospel has done its work, then we can address the other issues. Broken marriages, etc. … because Scripture is the source of wisdom as well.

    Then you bring the dual force of the Law and Gospel to bear on the other issues at hand.

    “God speaks in Holy Scripture and says that husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the Church. That’s a tall order, isn’t it? Be willing to lay down your life for your wife? Who among us can stand tall and say that we love our wives with that kind of love?” Here we bring the Law to bear … we have a standard, but one that we all fail to meet. But … for those who recognize their failure, we have (again) the Gospel … “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1.9).

    Now, to get to your final paragraph … I think you’re right. However, there’s something about it that makes me slightly uncomfortable, and it’s related to what I’ve written above … but I can’t quite put my finger on it. So, I’m going to mull it over and I’ll write more later.