I want to share a little behind-the-scenes info on getting ready for church. Each week, whoever is preaching gets a video together for home church and sends it to me over e-mail, DropBox, or something else entirely. I take that video and run it through my computer for audio and visual editing, create overlays containing discussion questions, render the whole thing, then upload it to YouTube. Other than the time needed to record the video, it typically takes 1-2 hours to put together and another hour or so to complete all the downloading/uploading to various sites.
When we approached our church's soft-launch on 14 February 2021, if anyone remembers, Bowling Green was hit with a snowstorm resulting in multiple power outages. That night was... rough. I had an 18 month old, a relatively new house that I wasn't familiar with, and a generator that refused to start. It was cold, I was stressed out already about the soft-launch for the church, and the universe seemed completely against me. Over the next several hours, after a pulled muscle, cut hand from a broken generator pull-handle, and a lot of choice words muttered to myself... the generator was on and a long extension cord wound through the house to my computer. I was able to get 1-bar of cellphone signal to connect to YouTube and managed to get our first virtual service out after almost 12 hours.
During our recent blizzard, I found myself again sitting in a powerless house (albeit, far better prepared) with no internet and limited electricity. Still, we were able to get everything put together for church so that those at home church and hub church could enjoy a little spiritual rejuvenation and normalcy.
Why am I telling you all this?
In these moments, I am reminded of what Christ told one individual who enthusiastically wanted to follow him...
18 When Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave the order to go to the other side of the sea. 19 A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:18-20)
As Christians, especially those who pride ourselves on trying to pursue a Christ-centered church, we like to say things like "following Christ doesn't assure comfort" and "if you're doing it right, it won't be easy". However, so often we crumble like a dead leaf when the slightest pressure is applied to our lives. The excuses we can use for not jumping at the opportunities God gives us are endless: someone else will handle it, I don't have enough time/energy/money, I don't know if that's really where I'm strongest... if we want to find an excuse to not do something God is calling us to do, there will always be an excuse available.
When I think about nights like February 14 of 2021, I think about how small the obstructions I meet really are. I mean, I had a little power outage? The internet went out? What about the millions of Christians who have to worship in secrecy due to government oppression in authoritarian countries? What about the millions of seekers who live in nations where they are lucky to have a few pages of scripture in their own language? Don't these people have so many more reasons to give up on the "Jesus thing" than I do? Compared to that, the obstructions I face seem so... insignificant.
Christ lived the ultimate life of obstruction. Throughout his life, his friends abandoned him, his home town abandoned him, his government abandoned him, his religious leaders (priests, Pharisees, etc) abandoned him... if anyone ever had a reason to give up, it was Jesus. Yet, he pushed through. He persevered. He took the tired cliché of playing through the pain and made it real.
There will always be a reason to choose something other than Christ. That's why so many choose lives either totally devoid of Christ or only recognizing Christ in a way that conveniently fits into their daily lifestyle. Every day we should look for opportunities to do more, to be more, and to push through whatever obstruction the world puts in our way. Take heart, because whatever stands in your way, Christ has already pushed through it ahead of you.
All we have to do is follow.
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