Amy, Josh and I have recently moved to the leafy, middle class suburb of Ringwood (Oh sorry – of course egalitarian society – there are no classes!). Only 20 minutes down the road, yet at times, it feels a world away from the multicultural Dandenong we have called home for the last 2 years. However, under the surface of our new community, there appears to be desperation. I saw this in the eyes of a mother with 3 kids in tow, at the end of our street. Something was going on in her life that had left her not only frustrated, but you could see in her eyes a massive pain and block, perhaps there is no word other than desperation.
This confirmed for me a vision I received the previous night… somewhat unsettling. My eyes well with tears and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the thought of it. I awoke to what I thought was a knocking and a cry, my first perception was that Joshua had got lost somewhere in the darkened ramble of our new house. But after startling him, as he slept safe in his bed, a vivid image came to me.
It was of a woman, broken, her brown, shoulder length, lightly curled hair was all dishevelled, her eyes were wild. She was running in a blind panic and knocking on our door. She was crying for help. The desperation was written all over her face. I hope I have captured some of the intensity of that moment. It was stark, it was startling, fleeting, yet has stayed with me over the last few days.
So what did the image mean? The house we have moved into is a DHS house, in which we will be caring for teenage foster kids. Sometime in its past it has been a refuge for women escaping domestic violence. There is a sense for me, that a spirit of desperation is over the house. We have been praying for God to turn that into a spirit of hope and new life… please pray with us.
On a deeper level, I believe God was showing me a picture of the church! Oh what a haunting image. His beloved bride, battered and bruised, hurt and desperate. Calling out for help. Don’t know about you, if a woman in that state turned up at my place, I would be overwhelmed with compassion, and I would want to do whatever it took, to see her begin to mend the desperation and come to a place of hope. I wouldn’t pay her out, I wouldn’t make fun of her, I wouldn’t be harsh with her. I would show her love, the restoring love of Christ. Yet I have not been that way with the church. I have criticised, I have chastised, I have made fun of, I have torn down…
What is needed is love and compassion. This is Jesus, beloved! Like the image of the woman coming for help, once the crisis has subsided, you would want to address issues in her life, but not with condemnation, with love and compassion. Gently peeling back one bandaid after another, to reveal yet another festering sore that needs the touch of the healer. Perhaps this is the heart attitude we need to have towards the church?
The story of Hosea and Gomer comes to mind. Hosea’s life became a prophetic message to the people of Israel. They were like an unfaithful bride, running around in a desperate effort to meet their needs for security, prosperity, fertility etc. It got to the point that God disowned his people (Hosea 1:8,9). Yet you see his heart for them coming through again and again. (11:8,9; 14:4-9) He can’t let them go, his love is too great, his compassion unfailing even in his anger.
So what are we to do? The church is broken, battered, bruised - desperate. Like Israel it has got there, through its own sin (which we are all a part of). But like Israel, God’s great love, even in his anger and hurt and disappointment, is calling the church back, with a promise of destiny, hope and new life. Instead of condemnation and frustration, could we be God’s instruments to call his bride back to him, to see it restored to the picture God has in his wallet?
The same morning that I saw the desperate woman, as I was travelling to the office, I saw a bridal boutique, and realised that’s what we’re preparing the church for - the great wedding feast. Will you join me, more will you join Jesus, in his task of calling and restoring his bride to be all that it can be?
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