Love, yes.
Patience, some days.
Perseverance, at times.
Integrity, always.
Forgiveness and understanding, you betcha.
But courage??
Courage is what the cowardly lion sought when he joined Dorothy on the yellow-brick road. Turns out he had it all along and just didn't know it.
Courage is what it takes to face your fears head on. . . swallow hard, put your head down and DO IT! Courage: doing something you may not really want to but deep down inside you know for certain as certain can ever be that it is something you need to do. . . you must do. . . you are called to do. And it's not about you! It's not about your own desires or wishes or what you think is best for you in the moment. It's not about what might be in your best interests. It is bigger than that. And it takes guts!
Yes, sometimes in the church we need courage. If you are thinking to yourself, "well that's the last place on earth that I would think I would need courage" then you haven't been in the church long enough!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about Christian Community in his book Life Together. He wrote about the human desire to be together, that deep desire for true community. But, he pointed out, there is a time when each of us experiences deep disillusionment with Christian community. You've experienced that right? A squabble about something unimportant, a power struggle amongst leaders, someone having a bad day and being a little on the snippy side with your kid.
Our disillusionment might make us want to run away. Maybe you have run away from time to time. . . maybe you are still away and have vowed never to go back. . . maybe you are looking for a reason to try again. . . courage!
The thing is, we have to work past the disillusionment to get to the other side of things where true community exists. The church is never perfect and it never will be, this side of heaven. But once our eyes are opened to the sin that still exists in each other and in the church we can be moved to a deeper understanding of one another. We can move toward forgiveness and reconciliation. We can go deeper with Christ who will help us to see that "it's not about me."
Sometimes we may think that we will never understand each other. . . we may spend many moments scratching our heads wondering, "What was that all about??" Our hope is that it will make us stronger, that we will be drawn closer to Christ, that we will be deeper involved with each other and with God, more committed to our collective life in Christ. Our hope and prayer is that we will get to that place of true community where each person is looking out for the other and setting aside their own needs/wants/desires for the sake of the other. Mutual love and compassion!
So let me just say: I admire your courage! I admire how you put aside your own well-being for the sake of comforting another. I admire how you "take it on the chin" for the sake of the other. I admire how you hang in there, faithfully, joyfully, through the pain and the tears out of Christian love. . . you inspire me! Watching you live your life with such courage makes me hope that I can do the same. Amen.
Disclaimer: this posting is not to give the reader the idea that Christian community is anything less than joyful and wonderful and filled with love. . . however, there is a reality that exists where two or three are gathered. You should know this and not expect perfection if and when you seek community. God bless you!
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