Rediscovering Wonder: Jesus' Heart for the Church
Have you ever watched a child experience something magical for the first time? Pastor Dave recently shared a beautiful story about his 9-year-old son Banayiah meeting airline pilots during a layover, and how that child-like wonder reminded him of something profound about our relationship with the church.
The Danger of Familiarity
We live in a world where the miraculous becomes mundane. Flying 35,000 feet in the air—something that would have been impossible just over a century ago—is now routine. We board planes with our own meals and cutlery, barely marveling at the engineering feat that keeps us suspended in the sky. This familiarity creates a dangerous cycle: we lose wonder, focus on negatives, and what should be a blessing becomes a burden.
The same thing happens with church. What starts as excitement about God's work can become "Oh, I have to go to church again." We hear testimonies of healing and think "Oh, good" instead of recognizing we just witnessed a miracle. We see lives transformed and hearts changed, yet somehow lose the awe of what God is doing in our midst.
Jesus' Vision for His Church
When Jesus washed His disciples' feet in John 13, He wasn't just demonstrating humility—He was establishing a revolutionary vision for what the church should be. In that tender, vulnerable moment, Jesus showed that the church should be a place where we bring our mess, not pretend to be our best.
Too often, we've turned church into a place where people feel they need to be "messless" to enter. But Jesus' heart breaks for a community where bloodied, bruised, and broken people can find others willing to get in the mess with them. This is where true healing begins.
Four Pillars of Christ's Church
Jesus outlined four key characteristics for His church:
A Place for Our Mess: Where vulnerability is welcomed and healing happens, not where perfection is performed.
Radical Love and Unity: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another" (John 13:35). Our love for each other becomes the greatest witness to the world.
Power and Impact: Jesus promised we would do "even greater things" than He did. The church isn't meant to be just Sunday services—it's meant to be a place where the supernatural power of God transforms lives.
Spirit-Empowered Living: Equipped daily by the Holy Spirit to make a difference in our streets, homes, and workplaces.
Breaking the Cycle
Where have you gotten familiar? Maybe it's the privilege of gathering in God's presence each Sunday, or the community you've found, or the leadership that has guided you. When we identify our areas of familiarity, we can choose to cultivate wonder instead of finding fault.
The church isn't perfect—it's filled with imperfect people like you and me. But when we see it through Jesus' eyes, we realize we're building something profound. We're not just filling time on Sundays; we're participating in God's primary vehicle for bringing healing, wholeness, and salvation to the world.
Jesus died for the church. We get to live for it. That's not a burden—that's the greatest privilege imaginable.