Re-membering Church - Part III - Now Matters

Psalm 19 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul . . . making wise the simple . . . giving joy to the heart . . . giving light to the eyes . . . ."

Acts 13:36 "When David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep."

I never cease to be amazed at David's feelings about the Law. He absolutely loves it. He doesn't endure it, he embraces it. When I look at it, I see restrictions. When David looks at it, he sees light and life. He sees God personified, and a means to serve Him and draw near to Him. We know now what "God personified" really is all about - the Word actually becoming flesh and pitching His tent among us. David didn't experience this, but that didn't stop him from experiencing God in a full way and serving God's purpose to the generation he was in.

God is capable of being fully immersed in whatever "light" your generation is working under, and making you effective in that light. In Galatians 2 and 3 Paul talks about the Law as being set aside, having served its purpose, which was to bring us to Christ. He talks about "Christ in us" as the the fulfillment of the Law. He calls this a better thing.

But that doesn't diminish David's moment, and the beautiful light of a future in heaven will not diminish today's moment for you. If we want to experience God, we have enough right here and right now to do that. We can write psalms today that to a future generation in heaven may seem as confusing as David's meditations on the Law. But that doesn't matter. Now matters. This generation matters.

The reason I write this in a "Re-membering Church" post is that many churches spend too much time hoping for a strike from God that will pull them to a higher level, and then they will move out in service. I also know of some who simply talk about enduring this life until we "all get to heaven." That's not good enough, and it's why we have a disconnect with today's generation. They understand that now matters and want to see it matter in any church they go to. If all we sing is "We're Marching to Zion" then we'll see them march out the door. (by the way - I like that hymn but that can't be our sole focus)

We have enough for now. Actually, we have more than enough. We have more than David did and he served God's purpose in his own generation. We can offer our generation a now that matters.