i'm amazed in a culture of such abundance, that so often those of us in the church feel crippled by lack. we live and minster in the most affluent country in the world and i personally live in one of the most affluent portions of that country. it breaks my heart sometimes that both corporately and individually we fall into a pattern where we feel crippled by our lack...materially...creatively...in our time. this seems so contrary to me to the way that God wants us to function as His church...
i'm studying again the construction of the tabernacle in the book of exodus, and i'm amazed at the abundance of that endeavor. i think it would seem amazing if they even close to a large city. but it was built in the middle of the desert. two key things happened there...
- the people's hearts were stirred (a phrase repeated over and over in this section) to contribute in the ways that God had enabled them materially and creatively.
- God's responded to the obedience of the people and gifted them for this endeavor, and then He showed up.
its interesting that the key ingredient in the "success" of Israel's tabernacle building experience was not their great resources, but rather the stirring of the peoples' hearts to respond in obedience and worship of YHWH. what could happen in our community if we would respond to him like this?