What is church like?
Is it a jacuzzi?
Cosy? Relaxing? A chance for you and your nearest and dearest to recharge the batteries?
Or is it...
A waterfall?
Scary? Exciting? Expansive? Never safe?
Or is it... and here's my new word for the week...
A jacuzzerfall
Here we see the blessings of our close fellowship in Christ flowing out and blessing the whole world.
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. (1 Peter 2:9-12)
This is what church is like - a jacuzzerfall. (Now go and use the word this week)
And here's my little sermon on the subject. Text here.
Afterthought: Of course God also is a jacuzzerfall, but that's a whole other post...
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Use the word in a sentence this week? It's Thursday- not that many more days left!
lol
I like the waterfall imagery for the church. I can't think of a better illustration of overflowing power. But the jacuzzi seems more like a metaphor for pietism than the apostolic mission. The idea of plumbing as entertainment caught on when Hollywood celebrities began using and endorsing the bathtubs with jets.
The contemporary church often seems more like a jacuzzi than a waterfall, but Peter here, along with all of the apostolic witness, presents a majestic view of the church as called *in* the end times and living in joyous anticipation of *the* day of visitation.
The account of the Ascension in Acts 1:8-11 brilliantly contrasts the vision of the church as Spirit-empowered global witness to that of dreamy stargazing.
My hope for the church today is lots more waterfall, and way less jacuzzi.
Yes I love that rebuke in Acts 1 - "Why are you looking up? You've just been given your marching orders."
I'm very keen that we hold the jacuzzi truths (chosen people, royal priesthood...) in the strictest connection with the waterfall purposes - that you may declare. To the point of saying you don't understand those privileges and they don't exist for you if they don't propel you outwards.