Your Contributing Verse

We are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with Passion. Poetry, beauty, romance, love -- these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman: “O me! O life! of the question of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish... What good amid these O me, O life?”

The Answer: That you are here--That life exists and your identity is intrinsically unique, and extraordinary. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. "That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse." What will your verse be?
I know what the verse is for my particular church:

In this powerful play… our verse would be to have a place where we worship God freely through all art forms. That we would not only be working out the most innovative expressions of music, but we would have groups that would facilitate dance, we would have people that participated in expressive and engaging art, that we would see plays and other skits that bring laughter, and understanding.

Another verse that we would contribute would be a family to those that have none. That people would know us and know our God by our love of them.That we would see people healed by their inclusion, incorporation and their movement towards becoming a mature follower of Christ. That we would see the change in peoples lives towards maturity as they began to walk with a loving God.

Our church may contribute such a verse and our world would be changed because the people of our church are authentically themselves and authentically His.

But here’s the deal: This vision, this beauty, this verse that we are contributing is exactly that. Merely a vision. Words written on paper. That’s all. It’s us looking through the hole in the fence and seeing the colorful world beyond, and being stoked that we were smart enough to look through. But it isn’t our reality… It’s just a vision.

Peter, when he saw his master’s lifeless body pulled from the cross on the first day, saw his immediate colorful, passionate life reduced to a vision. As Jesus lay in the tomb, peter saw a great man, with great words, and great miracles. An inspiration to all. If peter was a poet he might of recited Walt Whitman’s piece:

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores acrowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

To many of us, our world can only be a vision. We can hear an inspiring message, see an inspiring piece of art, we can even be a part of an inspiring church. But when we go home, our contribution to changing our world is as dead as the captain on the deck.

Jesus was a great teacher, Jesus was a great miracle worker, and Jesus was an inspiration for those that desire social change. But holding onto that inspiration alone today will only allow us simply to be inspired. Those of us that are driven may even make some sort of impact. But the vision will still only stay a vision. Because Jesus was all of these things (teacher, miracle worker, inspiration to all), but He WAS NOT the dead captain on the deck.

Because the God of the Universe decided to write the poetry of his love for humanity, and the prose of his Son loved us so much that he became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And this poetic form of a man died by the hands of his own people. And we can stop there and mourn the loss of our captain, but the poem does not end there for those that believe.

Because the sonnet of love continues to talk of a Son that three days later went from was…to is. Death to life; Death to our misgivings, mishaps, misfortunes, and miss whoever her name is; Death to the things of our lives that we are not inspired by. But the captain is risen! He is risen. Raised from death to life by the power of God. Not to simply inspire us with a nice story, or a nice vision. Not just resurrected to bring passion, beauty, and poetry to our lives. But for those that believe, this resurrection comes with an ability to accomplish much. To see your vision become a reality.

No longer will we be looking through the hole in the fence, but we will be on the other side. And we will not just be on the other side. But we will be walking within that world. WALKING! And where we move, the people will breathe in the kingdom of God. Why? Because the world changes as we walk. As we pass by. When we act. AS WE LOVE.

My hope today is that you are not manipulated… it is my hope today that you are convinced that we have the ability to contribute a verse to this world so beautiful it will bring tears to all that read it. But it is also my hope today that you would understand that we can only accomplish this vision it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Which means 3 things. And it is three challenges.

Challenge #1. That those of you, who have been teetering on the edge for so long with beauty in your eyes, who have been constantly dazzled by Gods love: It’s time for you to accept Jesus. It’s very simple and will move you towards who you want to be. After the service Ken Deborah and I are available to pray with you.

Challenge #2. Those of you who have accepted Jesus, It’s time for you to commit to Him. Meaning: be baptized, commit to your community, and commit to increasing your communion with God.

Finally, Challenge #3. those who are committed, its time for you move towards your maturity in Christ. What exactly does that mean? It means you utilize your communion with God to empower you to contribute YOUR VERSE to your community. Through your contribution of time, of your talent, and of your money you will see the vision grow towards a reality.

A play is only a script unless the actors Act! The beauty of the vision can only beheld if the painter applies their energy to paint the canvass. We have a challenge today. Do we accept it? or is it just a passing breeze? I know for a fact God is making something beautiful Now. Will you come along with me to make it better?