Dwelling Among Us
John 1:14 describes “The Word” (Jesus) as dwelling among us “full of grace and truth.” As a pastor, I hope that I regularly dwell with others as Jesus did, in the fullness of his grace and truth, but I don’t. Sometimes I fight with my wife. Sometimes I just want my daughter to be asleep so I can watch TV. Sometimes when I see my neighbors while I’m out I pretend to not see them. And sometimes when I need to dwell in God’s Word as Jesus did and I have to write one more sermon, or Bible study, or article… I wonder if God called the right guy. Am I alone in that thought?
Recently, I read two books: B.L.E.S.S. by Dave and Jon Ferguson and The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon. These books helped me reconsider the nature of what it means to dwell in the fullness of grace and truth like Jesus.
Through the B.L.E.S.S. acronym, I remembered that Jesus continually Began with prayer―anchoring himself in his identity as the Son of God. And when he met people, he Listened to them. He listened and understood their needs even better than they did, and many came to trust him because of this. He lived life alongside them day in and day out, which included everyday activities like Eating. He regularly ate meals with his disciples and those who might yet become his disciples. He talked about food, and the desire for food, and the need for true food which will nourish not only the body but the soul.
He Served those he met. Yes, he made the lame walk and the blind see but he also touched the untouchable, spent time with those who were written off from society, and was patient with those who were stubborn and hardheaded.
And, as he did, he told them a Story. It was God’s story, but it was also his story. It was the story of a God who sought to bless his earthly neighbors, those neighbors who were made in his image and yet were unable to be the neighbors they ought to have been, who were unable to dwell in the fullness of his grace and truth. Practically, what does that mean for us? What if we are really bad at being neighbors, really bad at dwelling like Jesus?
I was reminded, in The Art of Neighboring, that the command to love my neighbor is an invitation to look at the people God has placed around me and see them just like he sees me. The authors suggest a practical way to do this is to actually go introduce yourself to your neighbors.
I took their suggestion and made a map of the eight closest houses to me (it’s on a sticky note on my desk right now). I have been trying to take walks in the evenings and when I see someone, I go introduce myself and get to know them a bit. When I get back to my office I write their names down on the sticky note. And while it’s only been a couple weeks, I’ve got over a dozen names that I didn’t have before, and I’ve begun to remember them in my prayers.
Now, I haven’t had any of them over to my house to eat yet; I haven’t heard all their stories or served them very well. Although I did volunteer and take down a rather large hornets’ nest on the side of my neighbor’s house. (For the record, the score is Jordan 1, hornets 0.) And I haven’t shared my whole story… but I started. And as I put into practice dwelling like Jesus, I begin to wonder what it would look like if our Church body took some time to dwell among our neighbors the way Jesus dwells with us. Would we see new churches being planted and new disciples being made?
I don’t want to make it sound simple. It’s not. We will be tempted to create reasons to not go out and meet people―“I don’t know enough” or “I don’t have the time” or “I’m too tired.” It’s important that we recognize that we are not naturally all that gracious or truthful. But Jesus’ invitation for us to dwell with him and with others is not because we have it figured out, but because we don’t.
Like I said, this is not because we are the kind of people who wouldn’t fight with our spouses, or wish our kids would fall asleep more quickly, or ignore our neighbors. It’s because we follow a God who became our neighbor despite all that. We weren’t, and often still aren’t, good neighbors, but Jesus came for us and told us we were lovable, and in that he is reminding us that our neighbors are lovable too. We are invited to dwell with others the way Jesus dwelt with us because he wants us to know him and his mission better.
When Jesus went into his mission field, he found people who feared and even hated him. But he found people who were hungry for more of him too. So, as we follow Jesus into the mission field he has given us, we will find more of the same, but through it all he will teach us, both about himself and about us. And as we do this, we will come to a better understanding of his grace and his truth. We will come to understand that there is a gracious God behind the universe, who seeks to offer that grace and truth to all. As followers of Jesus, we are called to follow him. So, let’s go.
Recently, I read two books: B.L.E.S.S. by Dave and Jon Ferguson and The Art of Neighboring by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon. These books helped me reconsider the nature of what it means to dwell in the fullness of grace and truth like Jesus.
Through the B.L.E.S.S. acronym, I remembered that Jesus continually Began with prayer―anchoring himself in his identity as the Son of God. And when he met people, he Listened to them. He listened and understood their needs even better than they did, and many came to trust him because of this. He lived life alongside them day in and day out, which included everyday activities like Eating. He regularly ate meals with his disciples and those who might yet become his disciples. He talked about food, and the desire for food, and the need for true food which will nourish not only the body but the soul.
He Served those he met. Yes, he made the lame walk and the blind see but he also touched the untouchable, spent time with those who were written off from society, and was patient with those who were stubborn and hardheaded.
And, as he did, he told them a Story. It was God’s story, but it was also his story. It was the story of a God who sought to bless his earthly neighbors, those neighbors who were made in his image and yet were unable to be the neighbors they ought to have been, who were unable to dwell in the fullness of his grace and truth. Practically, what does that mean for us? What if we are really bad at being neighbors, really bad at dwelling like Jesus?
I was reminded, in The Art of Neighboring, that the command to love my neighbor is an invitation to look at the people God has placed around me and see them just like he sees me. The authors suggest a practical way to do this is to actually go introduce yourself to your neighbors.
I took their suggestion and made a map of the eight closest houses to me (it’s on a sticky note on my desk right now). I have been trying to take walks in the evenings and when I see someone, I go introduce myself and get to know them a bit. When I get back to my office I write their names down on the sticky note. And while it’s only been a couple weeks, I’ve got over a dozen names that I didn’t have before, and I’ve begun to remember them in my prayers.
Now, I haven’t had any of them over to my house to eat yet; I haven’t heard all their stories or served them very well. Although I did volunteer and take down a rather large hornets’ nest on the side of my neighbor’s house. (For the record, the score is Jordan 1, hornets 0.) And I haven’t shared my whole story… but I started. And as I put into practice dwelling like Jesus, I begin to wonder what it would look like if our Church body took some time to dwell among our neighbors the way Jesus dwells with us. Would we see new churches being planted and new disciples being made?
I don’t want to make it sound simple. It’s not. We will be tempted to create reasons to not go out and meet people―“I don’t know enough” or “I don’t have the time” or “I’m too tired.” It’s important that we recognize that we are not naturally all that gracious or truthful. But Jesus’ invitation for us to dwell with him and with others is not because we have it figured out, but because we don’t.
Like I said, this is not because we are the kind of people who wouldn’t fight with our spouses, or wish our kids would fall asleep more quickly, or ignore our neighbors. It’s because we follow a God who became our neighbor despite all that. We weren’t, and often still aren’t, good neighbors, but Jesus came for us and told us we were lovable, and in that he is reminding us that our neighbors are lovable too. We are invited to dwell with others the way Jesus dwelt with us because he wants us to know him and his mission better.
When Jesus went into his mission field, he found people who feared and even hated him. But he found people who were hungry for more of him too. So, as we follow Jesus into the mission field he has given us, we will find more of the same, but through it all he will teach us, both about himself and about us. And as we do this, we will come to a better understanding of his grace and his truth. We will come to understand that there is a gracious God behind the universe, who seeks to offer that grace and truth to all. As followers of Jesus, we are called to follow him. So, let’s go.
Rev. Jordan Spina is Associate Director of North American Mission for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren.
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