Meditations from Zion

I need to lighten up about the various gospel message venues that are outside my sense of propriety or taste. If St. Paul is not concerned about motive, then shouldn’t I have more confidence in the ultimate message? God doesn’t need me as a defense attorney.

Philippians 1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

I confess, I struggle with the propriety of those who promote Christ in conjunction with goofy sounding miracles like “gold dust” or body spasms or hysterical laughing. And yet, who am I to say this isn’t God too?
Maybe every miracle appears insubstantial or faked to one person or another.

But the point is that God can bring down the liars without my help. God chooses when to weed the garden, not me.

In my own church, there are people who are moved to tears and confession by the waving of flags, a procession of women in white dresses carrying gold crowns, or children carrying an array of palm branches or country flags. These symbols do not touch me but that doesn’t mean they don’t have value or power.

The conduct of worship or the method of preaching or the way of the witness will be and must be unique to the individuals who do it. The only true mistake is when others try to overlay these ideas on everyone as the best way, the only way, or the surefire way to bring people into the faith.

There is really only one surefire way: authenticity and love.

Paul was confident in his own faith and knew without a doubt that he was in the right place at the right time. God was with him and God was using him. Everything else was a by-product.

I can only know my own God arena. And all the rest is about grace.