The Lord asked me, "are you entertained or intertwined?"
27/06/2010 13:04
The question John Wallace was asked
by Holy Spirit took my interest, so I stopped for a bit and read
more. He makes a point that “To be intertwined is to enter into
the life of the Body of Christ, to enter into the lives of my
brothers and sisters around me.” I would not have read it
through if the article was negative, slamming certain styles of
church, but it wasn’t. Read on....
"Are you entertained or intertwined?"
I heard the Lord say this to me recently. It was a question for me,
but also for the whole Bride of Christ. Leaving the church building
after the service, we get the same feeling as leaving a movie or
concert. We have been entertained. We expect an entertaining
worship team playing entertaining music; we expect entertaining
announcements, and certainly an entertaining message.
To be entertained means to have our attention captured for a short while, wowed by the audio-visual effects, and perhaps to be amused. But most entertainment doesn't hold our attention once we've left the theatre. It doesn't stick. We must return later...to be entertained again.
To be intertwined is to enter into the life of the Body of Christ, to enter into the lives of my brothers and sisters around me. True community isn't about being entertained. True community means a sharing of life, ministry, attention, and, yes, perhaps our money and our possessions. Followers of Christ have His life pulsating inside of us. Each of us who know and love the Lord have an investment, a Kingdom deposit, within us. To be intertwined means to share that life, to pour out of that deposit, so that I become bonded to those around me.
Sharing Life Requires More than Attendance
One of the "givens" in living in the ancient Middle East at the time of Jesus was that individuals never saw themselves as just that: individuals. Everyone was part of a larger community—a family, a tribe, the nation (see how Paul describes himself in Philippians 3:5).
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that we weren't just baptised into Jesus but also baptised into the Church. We now are identified with our spiritual family. That's part of our identity! Those early Christians couldn't imagine themselves apart from the Body of Christ. That's what I believe the Holy Spirit was getting at when He had Paul write:
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.—Romans 12:15
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
—1 Corinthians 12:26
...being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.—Ephesians 4:3
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.—Colossians 3:14
How can we rejoice or weep unless we have shared life enough to know if someone next to us is rejoicing or weeping? How can we know if another "member" of the Body is suffering or being honoured? Have I experienced this "bond of peace," this "bond of unity" that comes from the unity of the Spirit and the outflow of true agape love?
People attending a show aren't going to share their lives. They just want to be entertained. At the end of many church services, the attendees could walk out the door saying, "Good show!" Sharing life requires more than attendance. It requires time and attention. It requires listening skills. It requires compassion. It requires an un-hypocritical love (Romans 12:9).
We live in an entertainment world: movies, TV, YouTube, iPods, sporting events, concerts, and more. It's fine to be entertained sometimes, I enjoy it like many others do. But to carry that mentality and expectation to our gatherings, I believe, grieves the heart of a loving Father. Maybe we could start our next church gathering by extending ourselves to just one other person: ask how they REALLY are doing, praying for them, and just loving them.
John Wallace
To be entertained means to have our attention captured for a short while, wowed by the audio-visual effects, and perhaps to be amused. But most entertainment doesn't hold our attention once we've left the theatre. It doesn't stick. We must return later...to be entertained again.
To be intertwined is to enter into the life of the Body of Christ, to enter into the lives of my brothers and sisters around me. True community isn't about being entertained. True community means a sharing of life, ministry, attention, and, yes, perhaps our money and our possessions. Followers of Christ have His life pulsating inside of us. Each of us who know and love the Lord have an investment, a Kingdom deposit, within us. To be intertwined means to share that life, to pour out of that deposit, so that I become bonded to those around me.
Sharing Life Requires More than Attendance
One of the "givens" in living in the ancient Middle East at the time of Jesus was that individuals never saw themselves as just that: individuals. Everyone was part of a larger community—a family, a tribe, the nation (see how Paul describes himself in Philippians 3:5).
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that we weren't just baptised into Jesus but also baptised into the Church. We now are identified with our spiritual family. That's part of our identity! Those early Christians couldn't imagine themselves apart from the Body of Christ. That's what I believe the Holy Spirit was getting at when He had Paul write:
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.—Romans 12:15
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
—1 Corinthians 12:26
...being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.—Ephesians 4:3
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.—Colossians 3:14
How can we rejoice or weep unless we have shared life enough to know if someone next to us is rejoicing or weeping? How can we know if another "member" of the Body is suffering or being honoured? Have I experienced this "bond of peace," this "bond of unity" that comes from the unity of the Spirit and the outflow of true agape love?
People attending a show aren't going to share their lives. They just want to be entertained. At the end of many church services, the attendees could walk out the door saying, "Good show!" Sharing life requires more than attendance. It requires time and attention. It requires listening skills. It requires compassion. It requires an un-hypocritical love (Romans 12:9).
We live in an entertainment world: movies, TV, YouTube, iPods, sporting events, concerts, and more. It's fine to be entertained sometimes, I enjoy it like many others do. But to carry that mentality and expectation to our gatherings, I believe, grieves the heart of a loving Father. Maybe we could start our next church gathering by extending ourselves to just one other person: ask how they REALLY are doing, praying for them, and just loving them.
John Wallace