The worst part of moving is...moving.
For over a week now, we have been unpacking boxes, bins, cases, bags, furniture...I could go on and on. But moving day finally came and I am now writing this from my desk in my new office in our new church building. Sitting on this side of the move makes the move worth it. Who knows what God will do among here at this new location?!? Will we see a man come to know Jesus who faces inoperable cancer? Will we see that wife finally start coming to church with her husband? Will we see that young family start to center their lives around Jesus and the Church and His calling for their lives? Will we see that guest who is new to this area come back again and feel like they want to call HighPoint Church home?
If those things are going to happen, it will be because we have held fast to the standards that God lays out in His word. It will be because we seek Him for His will and see His power displayed. It will be because we do all we can to help people understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus that follows Him wholeheartedly for the rest of their life. When you think of it that way, there is still a lot to "unpack" and get set up.
Sometimes, I hear preachers/teachers use that word "unpack" to describe the process they use to help people understand how the Bible applies to their every day life. They'll announce that they're going to "unpack" this passage. For some reason, I don't really care for that phrase, but I do really care about the process that it involves. I have to be honest - every now and then somebody asks for that because they're hungry for more of God and for more of His word. And when they ask for that, we get excited because that is why we do what we do.
We do this so we can help people see how they can start to live for the Lord. That happened to me today. A young man is struggling with a lot of things and asked me to "unpack" (he used that word) the Bible and help him understand what it means. I must admit I was surprised by his use of that word. But when a man asks for help with something like that, we better be willing to listen up and willing to step up and help.
Let me set the stage for why this was such a big deal. This man, who has had more loss than you care to imagine, sat in front of me and asked me to help him understand (unpack) this verse:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
He wasn't doubting if God SO loved the world (or even him). He wasn't wondering how God could do this to His one and only Son. He wasn't trying to decide between perishing or living eternally. He wanted to know how he could believe in God that much, and how his life would change when he does. And when I get questions like that, I get excited to unpack that. I'm asking that you pray for that to happen. Pray for it to happen in this man's life, and while you're at it, pray that it happens in all of our lives. Pray that all of us will start believing in Him in that way! If we see people move towards God in that way, it will make this move to 4025 North Scenic Highway worth it!