Heaven In Our Eyes
Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 4:25 pm
I absolutely love the line in the book: "...the ultimate goal is to get them all home. We will fail if they are so distracted by the seemingly permanent items of our experience that they forget what is eternal." As I concluded this forty-day devotional, this final chapter was incredibly encouraging. It kept the focus on the main thing.
I currently work on staff at a church plant in east Tennessee. We meet in the gym of a YMCA, and every Sunday we have to set-up a couple hundred chairs, lights, sound equipment, backdrops, coffee makers, children's ministry areas, etc. It's really easy to get annoyed with the setting up and the tearing down. It seems so monotonous every week. But as I read this final chapter, I see now that I've been missing an opportunity.
In setting up and tearing down every week, I have an opportunity to connect with how God views himself: mobile and rooted in hearts rather than brick and mortar. Every Sunday morning, I have a chance to reconnect with this reality and remember where our church needs to be pointing and directing people. We frequently get asked if we intend to build a building. We really don't want to, mostly for practical reasons. But this last section of the book reminded me of a spiritual reason.
The chapter also reminded me of an old Rich Mullins song called "Heaven In His Eyes." It is one of my favorite songs that focused on the fact that Jesus lived every moment with a keen awareness of what his mission was and where he meant to lead people. I hope that in my own life and leadership, I will not become too bogged down in the day-to-day. I hope that when people think of me as a leader, they will see me as a person who has "heaven in his eyes."
I currently work on staff at a church plant in east Tennessee. We meet in the gym of a YMCA, and every Sunday we have to set-up a couple hundred chairs, lights, sound equipment, backdrops, coffee makers, children's ministry areas, etc. It's really easy to get annoyed with the setting up and the tearing down. It seems so monotonous every week. But as I read this final chapter, I see now that I've been missing an opportunity.
In setting up and tearing down every week, I have an opportunity to connect with how God views himself: mobile and rooted in hearts rather than brick and mortar. Every Sunday morning, I have a chance to reconnect with this reality and remember where our church needs to be pointing and directing people. We frequently get asked if we intend to build a building. We really don't want to, mostly for practical reasons. But this last section of the book reminded me of a spiritual reason.
The chapter also reminded me of an old Rich Mullins song called "Heaven In His Eyes." It is one of my favorite songs that focused on the fact that Jesus lived every moment with a keen awareness of what his mission was and where he meant to lead people. I hope that in my own life and leadership, I will not become too bogged down in the day-to-day. I hope that when people think of me as a leader, they will see me as a person who has "heaven in his eyes."