I kinda like my car. It's not flashy or really expensive. It doesn't turn heads or make the neighbors jealous. It's just a simple little Ford SUV. I bought it almost 5 years ago for some very specific reasons. You see, I was playing in a band at the time, which meant that I needed something to load all of my gear into and still be able to drive it without my knees up in my chest. I was concerned about gas mileage, and the larger SUV's where horrible in that department. Adding together these plus a few other criteria that any car I owned needed to meet, the one I now own became the perfect choice to accomplish what I needed to accomplish. It's really been a perfect fit for me.
One thing I didn't expect to enjoy so much was the 4-wheel drive. I'd never owned a 4-wheel drive vehicle before. Growing up and spending most of my adult life in the Chicagoland area, I've driven through some of the most extreme winter conditions one might imagine. I've done so in a very wide range of vehicle types. From a little Toyota Corolla 4-speed to a big ole Buick to even a mail truck, I've pretty much owned em all. I have to say that this one has been the best at getting me through some pretty deep snow that many others sat and spun their tires in or slid off into ditches because of.
Last February, I had a problem. When the great blizzard of 2011 hit, I was on my way to the store. I turned on the 4-wheel drive, and the car absolutely lost it's mind. I heard clunking and grinding. It surged forward, slid sideways, spun a few times, and came to a stop. I took it out of 4-wheel drive and hit the gas. Everything worked fine again. I put it back into 4-wheel drive, and it just spun like a top. I was extremely confused.
I took it to a mechanic the following day and had him check it out. What apparently happened was this: The electronic "brain" that tells every part of my car to do what it's designed to do so that everything works well was being ignored by the various parts that were supposed to take their orders from it. So, when I turned on the 4-wheel drive, all 4 wheels decided they'd go their own direction - wherever they felt like going. One went left, one went right, one went forward, and one went backward. With all of them being perfectly designed by Ford to push or pull the car at a moments notice, and with the 4 brand new tires digging into the snow, they sent the enntire car into a tailspin when they decided to do their own thing.
Fortunately, that was a fictional story. It never happened. But I wrote it to emphasize a point. When we look at the churches we attend, when we look at other churches in our neighborhoods, and when we look at the worldwide church as a whole, there's one thing we can all agree upon. Every single church that God ordains has a specific purpose. It's always His purpose, not ours. Together, we fill a need in the world as He directs us - first by the words and actions of each member, up to the words and actions of the individual church, then up to the churches in each community, and on it goes.
But here's the key..........To be most effective in being the church at any level, we must all make a firm commitment to listen to our "brain" - the one part that tells each of the others what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Within the church, that brain can only be God Himself as He leads us via His Spirit. This becomes absolutely imposibble if we ever allow ourselves to become 4 wheels pulling in opposite directions.
In Matthew 12:25, we read;
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand."
He said this in response to the Pharisees who, not wanting to believe that His ability to cast out demons came from God, but from the devil, began to see His deeds as evil instead of good.
Here's the incredibly beautiful thing about any church - within every single church, worldwide, that has been ordained by God Himself to simply "be the church," you will find everything and everyone that church needs to be exactly what God Himself designed it to be within that community and within the world, at that very time. Why? Because God doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't pull together incomplete churches, or a group of incomplete people, and then ask them to do His work.
By that very definition, there is no such thing as a church which is "in transition." While being believers, we are technically all in transition at all times, that transition is one of becoming more like Christ as individuals. It's a process that has no end. But together, as the body of Christ, we are complete. We are whole. We are perfectly capable of doing exactly what we are called to do at the present time.
But there's only one way this works in any church - we all, as individuals, have to keep our focus on Christ Himself, asking Him continually what His role for us is within our church is, asking for His guidance, through His Spirit, on a continual basis. If we can all simply keep that mindset, to do that first, He will do works within us as a whole that we never dreamed possible as His vision for the church as a complete body begins to work toward changing lives. Our view and our vision must always be vertical, not horizontal.
Within whatever church you might attend, ask God what your specific role is. He'll tell you if you ask. If you follow through in that, while also appreciating the roles that others are called to play, thanking God for their gifts and abilities as well as your own, miracles are on the very near horizon.
