If you have been around the Eagle Church community for any length of time, we often remind ourselves that God is more concerned with who we are becoming, than how much we know—the “with God” life. We also talk about the kinds of habits that help us live that kind of life “with God”. Our tendency is often to pursue this as an individual practice.
My wife and I have been doing the Immerse Bible reading plan and have been meeting with a group of others doing this also. Doing it “with others” has been a great journey. This past week, we were immersed in the book of Acts and once again God’s plan for the church was front and center. I must admit though, that the picture of the church and what is important to God, looks different in this story than how it is played out in the average suburban church. Who are we becoming as a body, not just individuals?
The vision for the church given in Acts seems to focus especially on two things. First is the idea that in the church, everyone is given a spiritual gift meant to be used for the body. Have we settled for something less? It can easily look like we show up on a Sunday morning for someone else’s gift—like the effective preacher or gifted worship leader. It is so easy to sit in a room and consume the gift of another person and not use our gifts to serve one another. I ask myself, what would a body look like if we all knew our gifts and were using our gifts? Have we given up that this can really happen as a church grows? Wouldn’t it be great if we were known for being a body that encourages and practices this—a people who, when they gather, use their gifts?
Second, there is this image of people who really love each other drawn for us. God’s plan is that we really are supposed to love each other. Multiple places in God’s preferred picture we see the “one another” concept elevated. He said that the world would know we are His disciples by the way we love each other. I ask myself, is church just some place I attend or is it family? If it is about family, sometimes it will be messy. Relationships can be messy. But, He wants it that way. It is not so easy to just walk away from family. It means we work at it, growing more committed to each other as time progresses and discover this place of belonging.
Eagle Church, imagine us being known for these two things. Imagine all of us showing up, using our gifts to serve each other and our neighbors, and then growing in our love for God and each other for the sake of the world around us. That is a vision that must really bring joy to God! I want to be in a family known for this. Can we continue to become this kind of family? God’s picture is so much better than what we often settle for. Thank you for the vision of the church—there is nothing else that compares to it!