It Will be Glorious

Yesterday in Prayer Group we got to talking about all manner of things. Most Christians I know are living with some tension. Attendance is more "optional" than when we were younger. The new generation of adults is not big on commitment to anything (well documented fact) and especially not church. Overt Christian faith is criticized, sometimes demonized, and in the newspapers, on occassion, apparently criminalized. It is a hostile environment to faith. Churches are not only in decline but there is also great confusion about the faith. More and more it seems "we don't believe that anymore" is assigned to any number of traditional Christian beliefs and practices.

The anxiety centers around two questions. The first, more generic, is "what is going on in the world/church?" This is the realm of frustration and aggitation. The second, more specific and existentially relevant, is "what will happen to us?" Similar to most churches, our members think their church is a great place, with wonderful people and faithful preaching. There is a real concern that things are going to be turned upside down. There is worry that something bad will happen. There are numerous "what if....?" questions. [Before I proceed, let me be honest, I have the same worries and concerns. I have a PhD in worry, graduated with full worry wart honors. My thesis was "Bad Stuff that Could Happen Which You May Not Have Thought of." ]

With that in mind, we sat around the table and the question was asked, "What will happen to us?" I paused and thought and I told them the truth. It will be glorious. A nano-second later two of the women, dearest friends and sisters in Christ, said in unison, "That is not what I expected to hear." I told them don't kid yourselves, I have plenty of moments where trusting God is not easy and I have plenty of reasons to be concerned about the future (not least of which is a thirteen month old baby and two kids in high school). But my wavering faith is not the point; God's glory is. Whatever situation I find myself in, I can still worship God. And true worship is always glorious, because true worship is focused on God and it shares in the heavenly worship of angels and the communion of saints. Do you have any idea what the worship budget is in heaven???? The pavement is made of pure gold, for crying out loud, so they have money to burn up there. They have the greatest voices and the greatest musicians in the whole of creation. We, wherever we are, share in that. SO it is guanteed to be G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S!

I am not optimistic. I read the Bible too much for that. Today we preached on John the Baptist losing his head. My sermon will  be online this week. The message is clear. God's Kingdom is not established yet so we are in a war. There are casualties. People suffer and die. Bad guys win alot. (but more on that wednesday) That is what we signed up for. I am old, fat and satisfied. My childhood prayers to die for Jesus have been replaced with the desire to live for Jesus (and probably to live period). Courage and strength are needed to face challenges. So is faith and hope. I do believe and I do hope. My identity is found in Jesus. So is yours. All our plotting and planning can not and will not win the day. The Law of Unintended Consequences will eventually kick in. We just mess things up. But it isn't on us. And worship is one of the few things which is in our control. We can choose to love and serve the Lord and we can decide to praise and honor Him. Wherever we are. In wealth or poverty, success or failure, we can worship. And it will be glorious!