Making Space: or "How I lost my closet"

Shortly after my recent marriage, I lost half of my closet. Those of you who are married know how lucky I am to have more than a fourth of it. One day I walked into my closet, and realized that I could no longer find anything. It had all moved. I learned that "off-season" clothes go under the bed in a specialized zippered bag. I learned that I didn’t really need the space that I had grown accustomed to. All of my necessities could actually fit in a much smaller space. And honestly, it was quite easy for me to relinquish control of that closet (and many other areas of the house.) It was easy, because I was delighted with what was occupying the space. It was easy because the space vacated by my "winter overflow" is now occupied with dresses, skirts, and blouses. Every time I look in the closet, I am reminded that I am loved. The space that I gave away is nothing in comparison to what I gained.

As we enter the sanctuary each Sunday morning, we are invited to make space for the Divine lover of our souls. It requires some rearranging and re-centering. We have to reorder our thoughts and priorities, shifting our attention from ourselves to God.
As we prepare for worship each Sunday, we endure the trials of getting children ready for church; putting up with our spouse who is always late; putting up with our spouse who is always rushing us; keeping your cool as we tolerate Sunday drivers; not to mention a hundred other things I haven’t listed. But the Spirit of God wants our closet space. The room that stress occupies on Sunday morning is the space where God wants to hang His peace.

Finally, we make it in the building, eat our donuts, and make our way to the sanctuary only to find that some visitor is sitting in our seat! We find a seat as close as possible to our normal spot, and pull out the bulletin to see what God is going to do this week. But God wants our closet space. Just like my winter clothes, our routines are not bad things. When it gets cold, I need my sweaters, and there are times when our routines are comforting. But the Spirit of God has some things we may never have seen that He wants to hang up. If we choose to make space for the Spirit’s will, every time we look at our worship we will be reminded that we are loved. The space that we give away is nothing in comparison to what we will gain.

This week as we enter the sanctuary, pray the prayer, "Holy Spirit, would you reveal to me the thoughts, expectations, and attitudes that I need to move into storage in order for Your will to be done in worship today."

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of a Memory

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, " This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. " In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, " This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me ." —1 Corinthians 11:23-25 Has it ever happened to you? You walk into a room and suddenly the sight, smell, or feel of that room transports you thousands of miles to your grandmother’s house? In an instant you are 10 again. It is so real that you could almost walk to the kitchen and grab a cookie. What you have just experienced is the power of a memory. Our brains catalog, not just the sequence of events, but the sounds, sights, smells, tastes and touches of those events and places as well. And every time we come into contact with those senses again, our brain, quick as lightni
Read more

Commission

"Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you." —1 Thessalonians 3:1 Each year, we at Faith participate in commissioning several mission teams. We declare that those who go out from us in mission are “Ambassadors” not only of God’s Kingdom, but also of the Faith family. When I tell friends and colleagues at other churches about our missions involvement, they are consistently astonished, both at the number of trips we take, and the number of participants on those trips. After participating in so many commissionings, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect this past Sunday as you commissioned the Guatemala trip. I have been looking forward to this trip for many months; but as you commissioned us, the trip became real. I felt a deep joy swell over me, both that I had the opportunity to go, and that the church, my church, was praying for me and sending me out. I don’t know that I will
Read more

Finding Freedom: Part III - When Is Enough, Enough?

" Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.' " —Matthew 18:21-22 We've spent the last two weeks talking about Forgiveness. We established that forgiveness is a choice, for we know that God is not a tyrant commanding the impossible; and we defined Forgiveness as "releasing my right to be angry and/or bitter toward a person for the wrong they committed and releasing the outcome to God." We have addressed what forgiveness looks like in response to an offence, but what happens when the wound in question is not as a result of an event, but rather of a behavior. What happens when you can’t even count the number of times you have been wronged? The Rabbinical teaching of the day stated that forgiving someone three times was sufficient. Peter knew of Jesus tendency to require more than the other Ra
Read more