“Leave your country and your
father’s household; go to the land I will show you. I will make you a blessing.
[Abraham] departed.” Genesis 12:1, 4
I sense my time
will be short at my current church. As I continue to pray, it seems this church
is moving in a different direction.
How does one
leave a place? God spoke to Abraham to leave everything to realize God’s
blessing. The 75-year-old Abraham left trusting God in faith.
In the book of
Ruth, Naomi left in desperation after losing her husband and both married sons.
With no one in this foreign country to provide for her needs, her only option was
to return to her homeland. Daughter-in-law Ruth responded in faith to Naomi’s God
and moved with Naomi to see what God would do. Eventually, Ruth married Boaz
and became the ancestor of Messiah.
Jonah ran away
from God’s clear instructions. A whale of an experience grabbed Jonah’s
attention and sent him back to obey God’s original message. His obedience came
with gritted teeth and bitterness at the positive outcome. It’s amazing that
God used Jonah’s reluctance to offer His grace and forgiveness to Nineveh. Despite
Jonah’s attitude, the Ninevites believe the prophet’s message and repent.
My husband and I
believe God is asking us to leave this church and go to a new place, to be
revealed as we respond in faith. There’s a hint our faith will be expanded to
see God do more.
Still the
question remains, how do we leave? I don’t want to leave out of desperation,
like Naomi. I don’t want to run away in bitterness, like Jonah. I would like to
leave, like Abraham, feeling blessed and blessing the church as we move on.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
God is challenging my faith to
trust the outcome to God, to believe God will provide supportive community, and
to believe ministry opportunities will abound.
(Written in March 2012)
PS Jim resigned from the church board May 15, 2012. This decision was not easy and at times rather painful. But, we are experiencing freedom as we explore the wider Christian community from Lutheran, to Episcopal, to a Taize service at Westminster Presbyterian.
