Is peace merely the absence of war or a majestic anointing to dissuade all conflict?
This question crossed my mind Sunday morning when Janet and I had the privilege of sharing our program at Peace Lutheran Church in Palm Bay, Florida, under the able leadership of Pastor Paul. Although the folks were hesitant at first to open their hearts to “us strangers,” in no time at all the glory of Spirit filled the room with reconciliation, realization and renewal.
It was good. It felt good.
Which brings me to my point this morning. Even though we may exalt ourselves for being extremely intellectual or even spiritual, we actually spend most of our lives being prompted by ourfeelings. Some would insist that this predilection is our weakness, but I have discovered that our emotions are what endear us to the Creator.
So when anyone steps into Peace Lutheran Church, they are taking the pulse of the heartbeat in the place.
Is it a sanctuary for redemption minus the fussiness propagated by our society? Is it warm with human smiles–aglow with care, and just lit up by the notion that “all things work together for the good for those who love the Lord?”
Only after we feel good about a place do we actually look around to see.
We notice faces. We observe actions. God forgive us, we become spies at our present location. Are we critical? Unfortunately, yes.
This is why there must be a belief system on Earth that understands that we’re constantly letting our light shine before all men. There is no backstage for the journey of faith, nor are we given a dressing room. There is no time to learn lines because all the daily setups are improvisational.
- The world is looking.
- The world is critical.
- The world must see evidence for what it feels.
And finally, if we like what we feel and we’re pretty satisfied with what we see, we’re ready to hear.
As we know, faith comes by hearing, so it is the responsibility of every believer to bring peace to our quadrant by providing a faith that can be seen and felt.
That was our message yesterday. We must stop insisting that merely opening the doors to a house of worship promotes brotherly love, good will or recognition of our Creator.
No–if people don’t feel it they will never see it.
And if they don’t see it, they won’t hear it.
So the good news is that by the time I left Peace Lutheran I felt them and I saw the love of God. They let me eyeball their soul.
And the better news is, I can now trust what I hear from them.
