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A View from the Pew
001
When I was asked to write for this space on the website, I really procrastinated. The idea is frightening. When you open your mind and heart to others, the results are not always encouraging. Personally, I don't get the whole My Space craze. I sweat just trying to select snapshots of the kids to send the grandparents that don't have a pile of laundry in the background. I cannot comprehend putting my whole life on display the way people are doing with My Space. On the other hand, is what people are presenting the truth? I digress . . .
So I became more enthusiastic about writing for this when I found out two things from "Elder Paul:" 1) It can be about anything. (He did not say I had to fast for three days and "get a word.") 2) I can remain anonymous. (For your profiler types, I realize that I have revealed quite a lot of information about myself in just a few sentences.) Whew! That made it easier. Then it clicked: A View from the Pew. I'm just one person at Community Church. There are lots of us. My view is just, well, my view.
What are some views of this pew sitter at MCC? For those who do not share an MCC pew, let me clear up a couple of things: First, we don't have pews, but our chairs are pretty comfy. Secondly, sitting is not the main attraction at our church. Thankfully, we have grown in our praise and worship time to the point that most people are on their feet. It didn't used to be this way. There was a long time when a lot of people made a sacrifice to stand, raise their hands, etc., even when it felt like "going through the motions”. Now, it seems that people can't help but respond to the tangible presence of the Lord. Should outward manifestation of praise be our goal? Well, just a quick study of Hebrew words for praise reveals a lot of action and sound.
I think maybe our faith and theology has grown, too. I think we know now that we do not have to "perform" or get all emotional in an attempt to get God to "show up”. Please. He's everywhere. If we're saved, He's in us. This is all about Him and not us, anyway. I think sometimes, even unconsciously, we try to get the control in our relationship with God. He politely does not allow that to happen (not that it could). When we yield, just . . . yield, such an incredible experience in Him begins to open before us. The path in front of us brightens. The heavens seem more vast and glorious. We begin to take a heavenly perspective and find that as we view ourselves from above, the higher we get, the smaller our earthly selves look.
The vehicle for this yielding process is God's Word. It's really not complicated. You pick up your Bible and read something like, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4)," and you say to yourself”, God must like when I thank Him and praise Him. I think I'll do some of that before I start crying to Him about all my problems." You read what Jesus had to say in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) about worry and trusting the Father who takes care of birds and flowers and you say to yourself, "Yeah, I have a problem with worrying. I'm choosing to give this to God and not let it ruin my day."
Well, I don't know what Bible scholars or religious people might think, but that's my View from the Pew for today. May God bless you.
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