This Week @ Windsor - Constraining Grace
I trust you’re familiar with the proverbial passenger’s question, “How long until we get there?” Perhaps you know its shorter, sharper form popularized by children everywhere as, “Are we therrrrre yet?”
In case you haven’t been traveling with a child recently, this question is oft-repeated and never celebrated. Joanna and I have four such passengers.
So call it wisdom, call it cruelty, but we had grown so tired of hearing it over and over from our four that we implemented countermeasures to retain our sanity while traveling. I offer them here for your edification:
Measure #1 - Only permit the question to be asked once.
Measure #2 - Exaggerate the estimated time of arrival by at least an hour.
Measure #3 - Give the ETA as a round number so the smallest child can keep track.
This ensures the arrival will be sooner than expected, and thus come as pleasant surprise. It also encourages the passengers to bedrudingly accept their fate: you’re stuck here for awhile.
Stuck in God’s Passenger Seat
Nobody likes feeling stuck. It reminds us of captivity. Still, so much of life these days is definited by restriction. We know it is for the greater good, and in many cases, for our own protection. But disillusionment and frustration have slunk in like unwelcome visitors.
They tempt us to accept a fate of spiritual isolation. God may seem distant to you. Perhaps you are wondering if he really cares. After all, you might think as you stare at the same four walls for another morning/afternoon/evening, “what would want to do with this small life of mine, anyway?”
But consider how many of God’s people in Holy Scripture have found themselves in prolonged isolation. Here’s a non-exhaustive, off-the-cuff list I compiled:
Noah - quarantined with his family for over a year
Abraham - restricted from visiting family; wanders a remote area the rest of his life
Joseph - confined to a pit, then a jail, for over a decade
Moses - self-isolated in the wilderness for 40 years
David - evacuated to enemy lines; mentally confined to self-imposed madness for survival
Elijah - self-imposed isolation compounded by depression
Jonah - detained and infamously quarantined in the great fish
Daniel - exiled by his enemies, confined by foreign power
Ezekiel - socially-distanced by his faithfulness to God
John the Baptist - restricted in movement and diet as the “Voice in Wilderness”
Paul the Apostle - after three days of blindness, spends three solo years in Arabia
John the Apostle - exiled to the island of Patmos at the end of his life
Yet the greatest example such “constraining grace” is Jesus our Lord. On a number of occasions he found himself alone - even choosing to withdraw to desolate places.
At the outset of his ministry, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he would fast, pray, and be tempted. Later as Jesus is beginning his ministry, he intentionally retreats to solitary places for prayer before choosing his disciples.
Luke says Jesus often “withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Go to Gethsemene, where our Saviour found himself alone, pleading unsuccessfully before the Father that his cup of suffering might be taken away. Jesus knows what it’s like to be stuck; constrained through obedience to the will of His Father.
What wonder too, that Jesus would submit to the incarnation at all! The Son of God accepts the constraint of humanity. Infinite deity confined himself to finite flesh - to our frailty, our mortality - unto death. That is, until death could hold him no more.
Free to Be Still
Let this kindle our flickering faith: God’s will, constraining though it may seem, is at the same time equally liberating.
The cross brings focus to our faith because in it we see how the unyielding force of the will of God is propelled by the unsearchable depths of the love of God.
The beauty of the gospel is that we are free even as we are restrained. Christ’s love compels us.
But to what end? To obedience. To mission. To compassion. To surrender and service. To hope and holiness. Love compels us forward to (and through) all of it.
Waiting On God
My prayer is that your faith allows you to see beyond the limitations of this restricted period. Sure, sometimes God gives us a “timeout” and sends us to our room to think about what we’ve done. Sometimes God disciplines through exile. The Bible teaches restriction can be a form of God’s judgment.
But restraint can also be a mercy. Not all restriction ends in punishment. Solitude can bring nourishment. Limitation can bring enrichment. Isolation can bring preparation, inspiriation, and even revelation. This is constraining grace.
Amidst such great uncertainty before us, what is clear is that God would have the world stop. Slow down. Wake up. Breathe. Wait upon Him once again.
Church Stuff You Should Know
Stage II Carpark Construction is underway! This means that our loan has been approved by BFS and the contracts have been signed to complete the work. Our contractors are targeting mid-September to deliver a completed projected, provided weather delays are limited.
Temporary Church Access Plan - For those accessing WDBC and any other services on our property, you should consult the Site Access Map. A temporary access road will be installed across the front of the BEAM units and down through the Bargain Barn carpark. Parking will be either side of the logs on the grass oval adjacent to the Roman Hall gymnasium.
Pedestrian Access to enter the church will be restricted to the Roman Hall side, with the main doors to the church remaining locked during construction.
Kachan School of Tumbling & Performance utilizes a drop-off lane along the side of the Roman Hall, in order to comply with COVIDsafe standards of operation. Please do NOT park along the Roman Hall, except on Sundays for church services.
Church Services remain open for those who would like to attend. It would be great to see you! One new measure added last week was to reduce the number of singers on the platform to ONE. We are unsure how long this will be in place, but it should not be permanent.
Mission Aviation Fellowship is ramping up its “Fuel for Father’s Day” campaign. Look for more details over the next couple of weeks.
The Edwardes Family Arrived in Ireland not too long ago. Please be praying that they settle in well and get acclamated so the gospel work can gain traction quickly.
The ‘New’ Train Shed is busily being constructed. This is a room adjacent to the Hobby Shed that has been dedicated to the building and running of model trains. I was told by an insider this week that we are not long off from “laying the track.”
Auditorium Chairs were ordered this week. Thanks to the Design Team and a few others who helped get things moving again on this front. At this point in time we do not have a date of shipment.
Kids, Youth, & Families we have not forgotten about you! We are busy working with key leaders and volunteers to work out the best ways to engage and encourage you all during these trying times.
Laughing At Myself
Somebody stop me before I go too far that I can’t come back…
“What’s the biggest stretch you’ve seen from a preacher to alliterate the points of a sermon?
I recall a sermon on Joseph where he was Pitted, Potted, and Promoted. ”