Sarah Churman makes a lot of people cry. Not because she’s intentionally cruel or violent, and not because of anything she says or does, but because she can hear. That’s all. People cry because Mrs. Churman can hear. Millions of people have watched her listen to stuff, and a lot of them have cried because of it. They just can’t help themselves. It’s overwhelming.

In case you’re not one of the 27M who’ve seen the video, Sarah was born deaf (as the story goes), and at age 29 received a cochlear implant that allowed her to hear clearly for the first time. That moment was captured on film and uploaded to YouTube for the whole world to watch. And when they did, many of them, like Sarah herself, couldn’t help but to cry.

The reason a situation like that can be so emotional is because we all know that people were meant to hear, so we’re sad when they can’t. Deafness is hugely problematic in many ways. It so severely impedes communication with the hearing population that the deaf oftentimes form their own communities and develop their own culture with their own set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, & values that are influenced by their handicap. Deafness also endangers, because wherever warnings are made audibly (as they often are; sirens, alarms, screaming, etc.), such warnings will be missed; undetected by the unhearing ear. Moreover, deafness stifles wonder, because so much of our world is enjoyed through the ears: Instrumentation & song, the chirping of birds, a reassuring voice. Deafness, in many ways, is tragic.

No one as far as I’m aware wishes they were deaf. And I would imagine that the deaf would gladly choose to hear if given the choice. That’s why the response to one gaining the ability to hear, especially after having lived so long without, is so universally emotional & joyous.

Spiritual Deafness

Peter had already been busy in the discipleship community for a couple of years by the time he made the “Great Confession” in Matthew 16:16. He had taught bible studies, served at tables, participated in missions…all common activities for the average disciple of Christ. He was submissive to his leader Jesus, he was keeping pace with his peers, and he was learning plenty along the way. But something was still amiss…Peter couldn’t hear.

Sheer obedience, by itself, isn’t enough to impress Jesus

The “Rock” (as he was called) needed a personal translator in life issues, and so Jesus quickly became his Linguist. As long as he had someone around to tell him exactly what to do and how to do it, Peter was ok. If Jesus sent him into the mission field, he’d go (Mt.10). When Jesus told him what to do out there, he did it (v.5-6). If he was assigned to preach, he would preach, if to heal, he’d heal (v.7-8). He would bring everything that was on the ‘packing list’ and nothing more (v.9-10). Peter was like some people in the modern church who literally won’t move a muscle unless they’re prompted by their spiritual leader…and once they’re given the ‘green light’, nothing is going to stop them. They’ll risk their very life if they have to (see Mt.14:28-30 for a very vivid display of this kind of attitude). Needless to say, Peter’s obedience was remarkable, a thing to be envied by fellow disciples, and perhaps something he prided himself on. But sheer obedience, by itself, wasn’t enough to impress or to please Jesus. Quite the opposite in fact (see Mt.14:31). Without his Interpreter, Peter was sunk, and Jesus was unnerved by that reality.

From Silence to Sound

What Jesus was looking for in Peter was a “change-over” of sorts. A conversion from spiritual immaturity to adulthood whereby he no longer needed someone else to dictate his beliefs and make his decisions for him. A transition from blind confidence in his earthly Instructor, to full trust in a Heavenly Father. And this was one lesson that Jesus wasn’t allowed to teach. For Peter’s own good, this one had to come from God Himself. Some conclusions are meant to be made on your own, between you and God alone, so to let someone else do all your thinking for you on important decisions like these is extremely dangerous. Jesus wouldn’t even do that for the Apostle. As much as He loved him, Jesus refused to hold Peter’s hand and tell him, step by step, what to believe, for that would have been to enable him further in the very habit He was hoping to break him from. He wouldn’t do it for Peter…He won’t do it for you.

Some conclusions are meant to be made on your own, between you and God alone

When Peter’s deafness finally ended and he uttered his first words as a hearing man (Mt.16:16), Jesus responded emphatically: “How blessed you are Simon!” (v.17). Jesus wasn’t merely excited because Peter gave the correct answer, but because he was finally being directed by God more than he was being influenced by what others were telling him: “This truth did not come to you from any human being, but it was given to you directly by my Father in heaven” (GNT). It excites Jesus to see His disciples graduate from their dependence upon man to a reliance upon God. Jesus had never explicitly told His disciples that He was the Son of God. He couldn’t. It wouldn’t have been good for them. Yet, by God’s grace, & according to His perfect plan, Peter eventually came to that understanding without the help of anybody else except God. It might’ve taken a while, but Peter could finally hear. Good for him.

Christ’s Hope for You

Doing what you’re told is good if you’re a child. Every parent appreciates an obedient youngster just as every pastor appreciates a compliant disciple. But as the years pass, even children are expected to function without the same coaching they received as a juvenile. And when they don’t, mom & dad start getting nervous. Hearing God is a critical part of the Christian life, and to be a well-trained member of the church, without ever maturing beyond the need for your hand to be held at every step, wasn’t what Jesus wanted for Peter, and it isn’t what He wants for you.

It’s not hard to find people in our fellowship who wish they had someone around all the time to tell them exactly what to do & say & believe, but that’s unhealthy. Sooner or later you’ll need to enter in to Christian adulthood and wean yourself from a “godly-council-only” diet. You’ll need to learn how to hear God for yourself & come to your own conclusions. I can only imagine how Peter’s life would’ve turned out had this ‘change-over’ never taken place in him. I’ve known people who, like Peter, spent years in the discipleship community, keeping pace with everyone else, setting the example of Christian obedience. But they never developed the ability to “hear from God” for themselves on important matters. And they died.

Hearing from God is a critical part of the Christian life

You may have a mentor, and you may go to your Christian kin for advice now and then. You might appreciate the wise counsel & insight of your pastors and elders, which is just fine. Truly, to negate the value of earthly help is foolish, and to reject godly advice is pride to the hilt. Surely, Jesus had something of value to offer Peter during their time together on earth. But we, like Peter, also need something that no human teacher or leader can provide us with: Ears to hear. As helpful as a godly man or woman can be in getting you through the sticky mess of this life, they are no substitute for God.

So how old are you? How many years has it been since you began your journey of discipleship? Can you hear God yet? Because that’s what Jesus is waiting for, and that’s what we’re hoping to see in you as well. Spiritual deafness is tragic. That’s why, when someone finally hears God’s voice on their own, for the very first time in their Christian life, it’s such an overwhelming joy for the rest of the family. Almost enough to make you cry.

Awesome

Human beings desire to be amazed. We want to see incredible, beautiful, powerful and shocking things. We go to great lengths traveling thousands of miles and spending millions of dollars to behold and experience things that will leave us with some small sense of awe. Unfortunately those things are short lived, few and far between, and insufficient. We seek the awesome and find ourselves settling for the unexceptional. The word “awesome” has become a watered-down slang word that we use for anything that we find to be even mildly intriguing and interesting but when you think of the true definition of awesome (overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration produced by that which is grand, sublime, magnificent, and extremely powerful) there is very little that we know that can be described this way.

Other Things or God

I know that you know where I am going with this. The the things that we turn to for amazement, the things we attempt to find awe in will disappoint, but our God will not. He truly is awesome. He is great, powerful, magnificent, incredible. Adjectives stretched to their farthest fail to even begin to capture the glory of God or describe how much higher He is; how much we should be filled with awe that we can know and be in a relationship with Him. And I know that you know that.

So we as humans desire to be in awe, to be amazed, and we as Christians know that we can know and experience a relationship with the One so amazing and incredible that we can be filled with this awe forever, yet it seems we don’t live in that reality. Instead our reality is mundane and mediocre, monotonous and routine, day after day. And if we are not careful those days turn into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and before we know it a lifetime has passed us by and we can’t remember the last time we stood back in awe of our creator, shocked at His power, amazed by His goodness, entirely overwhelmed by His love. We need to recover a REAL awe of God, an awe that goes beyond intellectual knowledge and understanding.

Real Belief

We come together week after week and we sing sings that boldly proclaim how great our God is. Our songs are about His power, His grace, His glory. We learn about it, we even read about it for ourselves in verses like 2 Chronicles 29:11, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.” We are quick to talk about how awesome God is, but my concern is do we REALLY believe it? Has the reality of who God is and His awesomeness really sunk in to the core of our being?  Don’t let a false familiarity with God plunder you of your awe of Him.

Why does this even matter? What difference does it make whether or not we still find any sense of awe and wonder in the Lord? It matters because our lives are either captured by the majesty of God, or they will be captured by all the cares and fears of this life. When they are captured by His majesty WE WILL live for Him and we will do it with hearts filled with joy. When our lives are captured by the cares and fears of this life we will live for ourselves and no lasting joy will be found. Obedience is easy and natural when our hearts are filled with an excitement for God, a love for Him, a fear of Him, amazement of His power, and overwhelming appreciation for His love.

What to do

Now the question, what are we to do about it? It seems hard to answer, how can we possibly regain a lost awe of God? Here are some things to help: look at ourselves, look at others, look at God’s creation, and look at God’s word.

Ourselves- Now I don’t mean to take a deep look inside at who you are and what you have done, that probably won’t lead to awe of anything. Take a step back, stop thinking about all that you have done, turn to what God has done. Think about everything that He lined up and miraculously worked into your life all the way through to get you where you are right now. Take the time to reflect on the incredible work that God has done in your life up until now and thank Him for it.

Others- Look around! I know sometimes we don’t see it, sometimes it is slow and painful, but God is doing great work all around us. It might not be the work we expect, but God is saving souls and transforming lives. We will see it if we look.

Creation- There is a reason why Romans tells us that since the beginning of creation God’s qualities, His power, and nature have been on display for all to see.

The Bible- Read passages like Isaiah Chapter 40 where you can find the glory of God displayed for all to read. Read His word again and again, and dont read it just to become more intellectually informed or to find a list of things to do, but to discover God. To behold the true and awesome nature of our Creator and Savior.

Our God is an awesome God. He is magnificent, powerful, and wonderful. Believe it, trust it, and let’s live our lives in light of that fact. Then we can say farewell to the mediocre and mundane that the rest of this world knows and embrace the awe filled life that God would have for us.

Did you grow up in a family?

I’ll bet you did. And even if your family wasn’t “ideal”, you survived it. My family wasn’t perfect, and neither was yours, but I’ll tell you one thing: Barring any major dysfunction, you didn’t run away from them, and they didn’t run away from you. There may be some exceptions here and there, but you probably didn’t flee in the middle of the night & move in with a different family, and you probably didn’t secure a legal name change to ensure your safety, and you probably didn’t drop all contact with your folks so you could forget all of the terrible things that happened and begin the process of “healing”. Most likely, you stuck it out, kept the name, and still hug mom & dad when you see them, even though they weren’t perfect. And they probably hug you back, even though you weren’t the easiest kid to raise. Even if it sometimes hurt, you still love your family, and they still love you.

Being the member of a family is a necessary part of the human experience. We’ve got so much to learn from living in close relation to others that God decided to make it inescapable. By His design each of us was thrust into our respective families from the very moment of our birth, without exception or permission. God has determined that good character would be forged through our close involvement with other people in less-than-perfect environments, all beginning in the one we call “home”. Running away on account of its problems only delays maturity and fortifies irresponsibility. There are crucial lessons to be learned during our time at home as children that are intended to be carried with us into the world as adults, lessons that won’t be learned by avoiding each other. It’s obvious that people need family.

Social Loyalty

One of the lessons we were meant to learn by being a part of a household was Social Loyalty. In other words, spending the first 18 years of your life with the same people in the same space was enough time to give rise to occasional tension, but with nowhere else to go, you learned to remain steadfast in the face of adversity. Or at least one would hope. You weren’t always given the option of giving up and going “somewhere better”. Being in a family helped you learn how to ignore the fantasy that imagines an easier life elsewhere. It trained you to control your impulse to abscond from relationships when they became problematic. And it required you to come home at the end of the day and stay there. It forced you to endure with the people who sometimes hurt you and made you realize that the ones who love you the most sometimes treat you the worst. Among other things, being part of a family helped you to see how relationships actually work behind the public curtain, and to remain faithful even when they disappoint.

“If you can survive family, you can survive church”

 

To put it another way, if you survived family, you can survive church. God was training you to grow up, move out, and become unflinchingly committed to a church, your church, long before you even knew it. You and I have been more than adequately prepared by God’s sovereign design, to survive the many rigors of church life regardless of the social pains and interpersonal conflicts that go with it. You’ve already proven yourself capable of doing this long before you ever came through our doors.

Commitment (or lack of)

This being true, why then do we see such a sickeningly weak commitment to the church? We all know that families come with baggage, right? Why then are we so shocked when we realize that churches have their own baggage?  Nobody lives under the silly illusion that there’s a flawless household out there somewhere, yet more and more people seem to be searching for the perfect church. They think that if they look hard enough, they’ll eventually find it, join it, and live happily ever after. But when they’re unable to find one, they get upset about it, divorce themselves from it, and live sadly ever after instead. Christians are giving up far too easily on the church. The neighborhoods of Duluth are crowded with spiritual runaways like these. And this blight isn’t unique to the Northland. It seems to be happening everywhere.

“A church without wounds is an easy sell in a world where words are cheap” -Paul Maxwell

What’s the issue?

I’m not sure what to do about it. Maybe there are some legitimate concerns. Maybe churches are doling out way more abuse than I’m aware of. But many of the runaways I meet are revoking their enrollment for suffering no greater injustice that the average Starbucks patron does…they felt slighted once or twice. Somebody cut in line and made them feel inferior. The barista didn’t treat them like a demigod. But wait, since when is coffee so much more important than fellowship is, that we’d tolerate inter-relational insults like these for the one but not the other? Maybe the problem isn’t so much the church’s treatment of its people, but its people’s perspective of the church. The simple truth is, some are expecting their church to provide them with the impossible: Insulation from everything, including each other. They want “real community” without the reality of community. They want “real relationships”, but not the reality of what a real relationship offers. With so many of God’s children moving along to the next church before they’ve even had a chance to establish themselves at the last one, God’s Kingdom is taking on a frightening resemblance to the foster care system.

Choice

Each of us has a choice, and it’s not necessarily a choice between a church that hurts us and a church that doesn’t, because the latter doesn’t exist. Your church will hurt you from time to time just like your family did. We could lie to you and tell you it won’t, but like one writer says, “A church without wounds is an easy sell in a world where words are cheap“. The real choice you have is whether you’ll remain loyal or not when you do get hurt…and it IS your choice. Rescinding on your commitment just because you feel injured simply opens you up to further injury, only by a new group of people at a different church. And if history repeats itself, you’ll leave them just like you did the last time it happened. Do you see where this goes?

Fact Remains

At any rate, I can promise you one thing: You will eventually get hurt here at this church. Every one of us will, not because we’ve failed to create a real, intimate family dynamic, but because we’ve actually succeeded in it. Being part of a family can be a painful thing, but you already know that, so don’t be surprised when you get bruised by the ones who love you, as though some strange thing were happening to you. We offer what every family does, which includes irritation, discomfort, embarrassment, and insult. Not much different from the things you’ve been dealing with since you were a baby. But being part of this church also means that we’re committed to caring for you. It means that when life deals you a blow, we’ll be there to help you shoulder it. And it means that you’ll live in community like God intended so that you won’t have to die alone like the devil would prefer. It means you’ll have the chance to forgive the sins of others while overcoming your own so that you can discover just how rewarding deep relationships like ours can be.

We might not offer you perfection, but neither do we expect you to be perfect. We will hurt you, but… you’ll also hurt us. People leave the church all the time and for various reasons, but the church never leaves her people. She hasn’t gone anywhere in 2,000 years, and she never will. If anyone is loyal, it’s her. The least we can do is return the favor.

Enjoy your stay.