Without Walls

“We are built to live in the kingdom of God. It is our natural habitat.”—Dallas Willard

Today, going to church will be different.

There will be no walls.

And just as it has been the past two years right about this time, it will be where everything and a whole lot of everyones are unfamiliar, and yet where long-lost brothers and sisters will embrace and where total strangers will remain eternal companions.

Men and women and teenagers from one tribe of worshipers will sit next to men and women and teenagers from another tribe, from the same town, even—neighbors who have gone their separate ways...but not so today.
The songs may be new to some or familiar to everyone, but in either case, it will still all sound especially glorious; voices and instruments as one, resounding down the streets.
Kids will not only be squirming and fidgeting in their seats as usual, they may actually be seen running around ...and hardly anyone will care (except maybe mom and dad).
Climate control here is always from the Top down—no thermostats or AC switches to massage to try to make everyone happy, because mostly everyone is happy anyway, and are comfortable in whatever clothes they’ll be wearing.

There will be encouraging words of Life spoken by people we may not really know well if at all, and yet it all feels right, trustworthy, perfectly safe, and mysteriously powerful...because the Source of those words of Life is still the same.

Coffee? Here, it’s been said that it's best to bring your own, as much as you want, and without fear of spilling.

And before everyone heads home again, those same neighbors who may have been strangers when they first arrived, but no more, are gladly uniting in supporting efforts to meet the community's needs.

They may even give a shout of praise about it, even though they'd never dare do such a thing on any other Sunday.

And look, over there. Those people don't seem to be paying attention...because they are praying with some of those neighbor/strangers, or even with a curious passerby.

All so seemingly unconventional, this church without walls, but oh so good.

Today, going to church will also be different because, given a choice, I’d rather keep to myself and the comfort of the familiar. Besides, I live here on this side of the mountain, and this gathering is over there on the other side, a couple of towns away in a place that I mostly pass through to get somewhere else. But it will be beautiful nonetheless, because today will be a reminder that the good news of the kingdom of God—some of the very first words Jesus ever spoke, and the priority request of the Lord's Prayer—is not meant to be lived in isolation, nor is it confined to place, or time, or methodology.

“…For the kingdom of God is among you because of My presence.”—Luke 17:21, Amplified

Today, I pray, will be a much-needed fresh snapshot of the now and the not yet, that while one day every tongue and tribe will be as one, the kingdom of God 2017 isn't just my church or your church or their church but intended to be experienced and shared and lived out with all others who bear the Name. A fragrant perfume of Hope…over the people and streets and towns we don’t really know, over our own dry and thirsty souls, and prayerfully clinging to us as we head back home and seek again to “be church” wherever we are, and whatever we come up against, this coming week. 

“God never stops working. He is building and bringing His kingdom with and/or without us. While we sleep, He is actively establishing and extending His rule. Even while we are reading this, God is working in us and all around us. His plan in inviting us to share in Jesus’ work was never to leave us on our own (Matthew 28:20). His desire is to give us the privilege of joining Him in the work.”

—Gary Best, “Naturally Supernatural”