08-22-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 22, 2023
In the last two days, I have seen Genesis 1:1 in three rather unusual places. 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The first was on a billboard along the highway; the second was a plaque at a thrift store; the third was in a bathroom stall at a gas station. In the case of the third, it was scratched into the metal divider between urinals, and the scribe only got to the word “heaven” before concluding. And just above the scripture was someone’s phone number that was offering a good time. 

For far too long, the church has suggested that the primary place to express its purpose is within the walls of the church, and even more specifically, inside the walls of the sanctuary on Sunday morning. Seeing Genesis 1:1 show up where people are living their daily lives reminds me of the importance of the church remembering that it is the church wherever a single member of the church body is—driving along a highway, walking through a thrift store, or even doing what you do in a gas station bathroom.

Wherever you need me to show up, Lord God, and to do so as an expression of Christ’s body, I pray that I will do so with the same grace, passion, and compassion as Jesus showed throughout his ministry. Amen.