Tonight I found myself wandering barefoot from chair to chair in my church taking photos of worship during a rehearsal. While zooming in on Miss Jan’s hands on the keyboard, I noticed I was standing on wet carpet. I immediately assumed there was a leak before quickly remembering that this was where my girls, and three others, stood, dripping, after being baptized a few hours before.
Praying with your children to receive Jesus and watching them be baptized after praying for this for years upon years is one of the greatest moments of life.
I don’t want them to know religion. I don’t want them to solely walk through church doors three times a week and sit stagnantly. I want them to know Jesus! And I want them to know Him in a deep and intimate way!
At their funeral one day, when they die at 105, I don’t want the speaker to say “Jeremiah gave his life to Jesus at 10 years old and was a member of ___________ church.” I want every person there to know these kids lived their life in a way that was pleasing to God. That they loved Him and loved people. Had patience. Self-control. Joy. Peace. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. I want them to say they were prayer warriors who trusted in God to do miraculous things. I want them to disciple people. I want them to deeply desire Christ above all other things. I want them to go beyond useless religion and truly know, love, and serve Jesus in a way that leads people to come to know, love, and serve Jesus.
When they face wretched situations that are heartbreaking and life changing, I want them to stand firmly on the foundation of Christ. When they screw up and makes the biggest mistakes, I want them to recognize forgiveness. I want them to forgive. To speak truth. To know Him beyond Sunday morning.
So when the technology isn’t working or the carpet is ugly or the decorations are outdated or the songs aren’t their style or the chairs are uncomfortable or whatever blank fits…I want them to care zero because they are so enamored by Jesus that they don’t even recognize the earthly distractions.
Luke 5:17-20 says: 17 On one of those days, as he [Jesus] was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
They tore apart the roof to get this man to Jesus, believing He could heal. Believing He could do the miraculous. Their faith was seen!
Tonight, while taking photos and listening to the worship and the in-between-song-banter, Laramie, talking about her husband’s glowing t-shirt in the drum cage said, “All you can see is faith and nothing else.”
She was referring to his t-shirt, while unknowingly speaking words that God was speaking straight to my soul.
This is what I desire for them. That their perspective moves from trusting what is visible to trusting in the promises of God even when the path forward is unclear.
Faith and nothing else!