Imagine your church has no walls. . . To keep the animals out. So the dog wanders in and sits and scratches himself for awhile in the back of the room. The cat from next door slithers its way under the chairs, rubbing unexpectedly against your leg. A mouse got stranded under the communion table cloth and wants out. Every other alliterated point, he pokes his wiggly nose out to check on things and swiftly withdraws again. Maybe he smells the cat. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To keep your children in. You watch your children like a hawk when they play near the railing. You are four floors up and the railing bars are wide. Things happen. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To keep the noise out. And the church is on a main road. The preacher has to compete with the traffic four floors below. You know heat rises (boy, does it ever!), but you didn't realize noise rises too. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To keep the rain out. So everyone has to move away from the side (or the back) of the church when it rains. In the middle of the sermon. They just pick up their chairs and move. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To keep the heat out. So whatever temperature it is outside, it also is inside. And it is HOT outside. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To keep the air conditioning in. That's okay. There isn't any air conditioning anyway. Just fans. Lots of fans. The preacher has to compete with the traffic, and also with the fans. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To separate the different Sunday School classes. So you hang curtains from the rafters. The curtains billow in the breeze and flap against you while you listen to your Sunday School teacher. The curtains don't keep out the noises, only the sights. So the Sunday School teacher learns to compete with traffic noises, fan noises, and the noise of fifty children in four different age groups singing four different songs. Imagine your church has no walls. . . For a nursery. No softly padded floor. No crib, no toys, no swings. Just your arms. And the railing with the wide holes, of course! When your baby is tired or hungry, the Sunday School teacher has to compete with the traffic, the fans, the children singing on the other side of the curtain, and the baby crying in your arms. Imagine your church has no walls. . . To separate you from all the people outside. All that you do or say or sing is clearly seen and heard by those around you. Even if they weren't intending to attend church that morning, they were there. . . just outside your non-existent walls. Praise God! Imagine your church has no walls. . . To separate you from the great big huge needy hurting population outside. So you reach out your arms and invite them in. The poor ones, the rich ones, the tiny ones, the sick and hurting ones. The ones aching with sin. All the ones who need Christ so badly. For some of you this is so normal that you wonder why I would even mention it. . . . But there are others of you who can't wrap your minds around this. You sit in your padded pews with the air conditioning (or heat) keeping the sanctuary at a delightful predetermined temperature. Your babies are safely and happily playing in a fun, soft playroom. Your preacher wears a funny metal piece on the side of his face so that you can hear him even when he moves away from the pulpit. Your piano is protected from floods, heat, humidity, and mice, and thus churns out music fit for the heavenlies. You don't even know it is raining until you leave the building. There is nothing wrong with that! That is a marvelous blessing! Do you appreciate it fully? Walls can be wonderful, protecting things. In many parts of the world, walls are a necessity. But sometimes walls also keep the people out. The very people you are trying to reach. They drive past your walls and wonder what you are doing in there. People, aching with sin, needing a Savior. You have the answer. But you have to invite them in to hear it. You have to go to them with the truth that will set them free. Jesus preached on the mountainsides. He knew rain, heat, and cold. He reached people. His kingdom was not of this world, and He wasn't concerned about building walls. He was concerned about people. Sometimes we are too content with our walls. Comments are closed.
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Tim and LauraTimothy and Laura Berrey are missionaries with Gospel Fellowship Association. They share a passion for missions which has taken them to several countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They currently minister in the Philippines. Want articles like this delivered to your inbox?
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