As we continue in this series of devotionals about JOURNALING, more specifically, a series of devotionals about seeking to remember the things that the LORD does not want us to forget, I wanted to share with you a quote I wrote in my journal this past week.
The quote comes from one of my favorite authors, Henry Nouwen. If you're not familiar with Henry Nouwen, well, in short, he served as a professor at Norte Dame, Yale, and Harvard. After a few decades of serving in the academy, Nouwen walked away from his role as professor in order to serve and work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Nouwen was a man whose heart was captivated by Jesus’ love for him which in turn compelled him to be a lover of all people, especially those who are often marginalized within our world.
With that as way of background, here’s what Mr. Nouwen said…
“The church can be in the way of God, but it will never cease to be the way of God.”
For the past 53 years, I have been part of the church. Initially, I was raised within the Catholic church but at a young age, my parents left the Catholic church to be part of a non-denominational Protestant church.
I have zero memories of not being involved or engaged in the church in some capacity throughout my lifetime. And for the past 28 years, I have been gainfully employed by the church serving in a variety of roles over the years.
All of this to say, it would be a massive understatement to say that the church has played a major role within my life. By no means has the church been perfect… far from it! But regardless, I am THANKFUL for how the LORD has used His church (the people of God) to shape me and my walk with God. And not to be overly dramatic, but if it were not for the church in my life, I would be lost… lost vertically and lost horizontally.
When I read Nouwen’s words quoted above, I was reminded afresh of how THANKFUL I am for the church… the people of God.
Over the last many years, I have fielded many complaints, criticisms, and critiques about the church. I have sat with many people who have been hurt and wounded deeply by the church. And I have interacted with many hearts and souls who decided to leave the church altogether.
I am well aware of the MANY imperfections of the church. And I know all too well that the church (universally speaking) has failed to be a shining example of Jesus’ love, grace, kindness, and mercy. As we all know, there are too many horrific examples of where the church, specifically, leaders within the church have made it about themselves rather than Jesus, the One True Senior Pastor of the church.
But as I considered Nouwen’s words this past week, I was reminded afresh of a promise that Jesus made nearly 2,000 years ago… a promise that I’m pretty sure did not make much sense at the time to His audience.
Here’s what Jesus said…
“I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.”
Matthew 16:18 (NLT)
When Jesus made this promise, He was fully aware of people’s proclivities towards sin and selfishness. And most certainly, Jesus was well aware that you and I (the church) would miss the mark over and over and over again.
Jesus knew ALL of this (and so much more) and yet still made the promise that He’d use broken people to bring about healing; both vertically and relationally speaking to a broken world.
And even more than a promise to build something (the church… the people of God), Jesus made clear that even the powers of hell would not destroy what Jesus was building.
I am thankful for the church.
I am thankful for the church that I get to call home, GENESIS.
I am thankful that walking with God is communal and not done in isolation.
And I’m thankful that despite our many imperfections, you and I (the church) get to be part of an ongoing promise that Jesus made to help the world see just how amazing our Heavenly Father is.
I hope and pray that you and I (GENESIS) will never be ‘in the way of God’ but that we’d continue to position ourselves to be the way in which ALL people might encounter and experience Jesus.
