shattered

Here is the scene that awaited us as we arrived to open the church this morning (minus the orange things we added after discovering the scene):

Yup. Someone threw a rock through the glass door. Shards were strewn all over the floor. It was a really impressive sight, with the shiny glass catching the light, like jewels. It was beautiful. What had happened was serious, though. Someone didn't like the door the way it was and decided a gaping jagged hole would suffice better than your average glass door. Did it have to do with the fact that the door opened into a church? Hmm. Maybe.

Something our pastor said about the event during our service hit me in a right way, too. He led us in prayer for the person who did the damage & said it's not okay for someone to feel like they have that on their record, that the bad guy (yes, the devil, and he is bad) wants people to feel burdened by things like that, to make them feel unworthy or guilty, and THAT'S NOT OKAY.

Got me thinking that I'm glad I go to a church where there's a disturbance like this. The shattered glass door reminds me that the faith I hold to is a threat to some people, like I wrote in my journal, the gospel & Jesus are not the fragrance of life to everyone; to some it's the smell of death (I stole that from brother Paul). Perhaps it's because the church is making a difference & people are being set free from addictions, from bad relationships, from mediocre, and our church was due for some sort of disturbance. However that works, anyway, after discovering the shards & brokenness, my morning was so GOOD. Worshipping with a bit of the tension of the morning's discovery hanging in the air was the missing ingredient for an offering for a King who often gets mediocre praises from me. I was so inspired during the sermon & afterwards & had to write ideas down so I wouldn't forget them.

And then it struck. Like a Rock breaking into the church. Who's our Rock? The Lord is our Rock & our Salvation. And when that thought dropped into my head, I saw that morning's events as a prophetic statement that God (our Rock) is bringing breakthrough into the Church.

Yes! Take it, take it! Not just for the congregation I attend, see it for yours too! We're family! A gift for you!

May we be shattered, our protective doors be shattered, into a beautiful mess to welcome in the risky King who has life and wind and breath and grace in Him.

And an end to guilt, for sinners. Like the taxcollector in Luke 18, praying, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner."