church + purpose

earlier today, i sat in daniel's room half awake, praying God would show me purpose again. not that i was feeling all too down that emotions were getting in the way, it just seemed a little pointless this morning, like we didn't know what to do. reading through One Thing, by Dwayne Roberts, exclaimed that the purpose of life isn't about ministry or doing things at all - it is simply intimacy with God, and that should be the source of all of our unparalleled excitement. and, to tell you the truth, and this is really pushing Christianity to limits, i'm not sure how excited i would be. i prayed God would show me purpose.

first day of classes, i was not exactly asleep, but not very alert either. American Federal Government with the President of OU, calc four honors, a computer science class called "Applied Logic," and a lab for an electrical engineering class. and God answered my prayer. well, actually, it was kinda like He told me to go pray, and then He answered my prayer for purpose there. there's a coffee shop atmosphere hangout kinda place owned by Norman's megachurch (Journey) with a prayer room on the corner of campus, so i ran there.

God seemed to show me that some of the purpose and excitement comes from finding my role in the body of Christ, since we are called to be the bride of Christ, but also to become a part of the church, which is Christ's body, and in which each of us individually serve roles that are specific to us. and He seemed to show that when everyone in the body understands their role in the body and understands the importance of being connected to God (as He is the vine and we are the branches), then it's harmony. there's just something that clicks, and it's harmony. when the body of Christ is in tune with Christ, then i think that is when God works.

Jesus has been called the author of salvation (in Hebrews), and i think it is legitimate to understand God as a master story teller, the One writing the story of our lives. i've also heard, in a different context, that God is painting a large, complex picture, but we can only see part of the picture. we see in part, but we don't see completely. but the more we come to trust and know God, the more of the painting He allows us to see, which erases confusion from our lives and makes us become fascinated and more in love with Him. if God can be considered as an author or painter - when we do what we are supposed to do, which is have a heart that has completely submitted to Him - then He can write His story in our lives.

when we give Him the control to write our stories and form our lives - essentially make us into whatever He wants to make us into - then He will. He'll change us. He'll break us and mold us like clay, and the result will truly be His creation, made in His image, in as many ways as can be thought up. and if we let God do whatever He wants with us, which is ultimately to bless us and be close to us, then when we struggle with our flesh and fail and fall and cry and die to get closer to Him, the result is harmony. the result is a story written by God.

if the church is the body of Christ, when the church is fully connected with itself and with God, then it's like harmony. it's like running your very best race... along with all of your teammates running their very best races at the same time. it's like when everything clicks - like when you can feel grace. it can be things as simple as the weather or as trivial as a basketball shot, but the result is amazing regardless and deserving of wonder.

anyways, i think that's kind of exciting. if you ever wanted your life to be as captivating as a show on TV or a movie or even just have dreams that you pray would happen, i would say they'll be exceeded by God if He has His way with your story.