His Piercing Truth flows through a conduit of Love and Grace with an accuracy that isolates and exposes--regardless of disguise--dissension and discord.
Two churchgoers:
One, a lifetime in church, knowledgeable in the Word, ready to deliver God's standard of living to one and all. To do less would be to compromise the blow of Truth that God, in his or her view, metes out first and foremost.
The other, an incoming newbie, fresh from the world, wondering what this Jesus/God/Holy Spirit life is all about. He has met the church leader and is intrigued by his embrace, his acceptance, his honesty. Because this newbie saw the conduit of love and grace first, he risks entry into church, and from the pulpit begins to learn the Truth of the Commanding God who first and foremost Loves and applies Grace.The church leader's agenda is critical, and when it is surrendered wholly to what God wants, determined to first and foremost extend the love and grace of God to a dying world, then he (or she) cultivates the good earth from Matthew 13 (Day 1):
The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.That newbie, learning and setting down roots in the good earth of God's agenda, will find his way into the rhythm and ease of mature and skilled servant work (Ephesians 4, Day 2), and may invite others into his new world.
The churchgoer trapped in the seduction of dissension will continue the fight, but should be cautioned by 1 Corinthians 13:1:
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.The church leader cultivates the good earth that is God's agenda for the local church. It will not happen without God-driven leadership that understands the precision and demeanor of God's conduit of Love and Grace. It will not happen without Truth spoken from the teaching of that local church that then reaches the hearing of those who are loved and graced through the door.
Tomorrow: the test we all face if we purport to carry the Good News of Christ.
