Sixteen summers ago, Jeff and I had the opportunity to go to Israel with our Foursquare family. One of our stops was at the Dead Sea. One of our friends warned us that it should be called the “Sea of Unknown Cuts and Scrapes.” We laughed, but when we actually got into the water, it was completely true!!!
Today, the morning speaker talked about wounds and scars. As I listened, the Holy Spirit reminded me of that experience in the Dead Sea. As I sat in the room of “salt” (Jesus calls us salt--Matthew 5:13) I realized why sometimes gathering with the Body of Christ can be painful. It’s often a reminder of your wounds that maybe aren’t as prevalent when your living your day to day life. I wonder if that is why so many people won’t step into a church? I wonder if that’s why so many pastors disengage from relationships? The pain they have experienced by others was so cutting, that those wounds, when touched by salt, are remembered.
The one thing we forget about the Dead Sea is that people from all over the world seek it for healing skin disorders. This is why it’s important to move past the pain. After a while, you don’t feel the cut anymore. Instead it begins to heal. I want to encourage those who have abandoned the church to try it again. And pastors who have retreated from people to engage again. It might hurt the first few times, but over time, your wounds heal and then you will be the salt that heals another another wounded soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment