Greener Grass

Gun fire shattered the morning rustle our sleepy little village. It was louder than the AK-47s we were used to hearing and the silence that followed let you know that everyone was worried. There had been rumors that the rebels were heading our way and we could hear the fighting in the distance. I thought of my wife with our kids back at our house knowing she was probably terrified.

A friend and I edged our way out of the police station where we had been and crept along the outside wall hoping to find a clear path toward home. We got to the corner and peered toward the town center half expecting to see a group of rebels taking over the town. Instead we found a newly mounted, and obviously tested, .50 caliber machine gun in front of the makeshift army post. With a sigh of relief we headed home to let everyone know everything was okay.

This happened when we were missionaries in Africa. But here is the point. Every time I write about it it seems more dramatic than it actually was. Yeah, my heart did a few flips at first but it just wasn't as dramatic as it sounds.

I think I kind of get that same thing when I think about my ideal church community. I often dream of being involved with a group of people who love God and love each other. They won't be perfect people. I have no illusions of that. They will fight from time to time but they will get back together again. They will disappoint me and I'll disappoint them but it will be okay. We will deal with each other's frailties. We will have different points of view on issues yet still come together as a body. We may even dislike each other for long periods of time but we'll work on it.

The funny thing is that I all ready have all that. Why is it that I always dream of something else. I could see it if my dream was a perfect community but I wouldn't want that anyway.

I think the reason I feel that way is that our community has so many ordinary moments. It just isn't exciting all the time. For some reason I expect my dream to be so much more fun. Peterson talks about how difficult it can be to be a follower of Christ in the ordinary, everyday moments of life. I think that is what I find in my community. I just have to realize that my dream community is just never going to be as exciting as my imagination makes it out to be and what I have is pretty good.