Broken Greenhouses

I used to have a really neat greenhouse in my back yard.

I made it out of reclaimed windows (some of them were absolutely huge). My sweet wife found them for me in town and I went to pick them up in our van. I had to take all the seats put in order to get these windows home. They sat in my garage for a while because I had to plan out what I was going to do with them. I had all sorts of different ideas about how I was going to put them together.

At the end of winter, I finally started putting it together and by early summer, I had a pretty nice little greenhouse. I even painted it green. It being summer, I really did not have a need for it, so it just sat there in my garden sheltering some weeds that had a very nice time in the greenhouse. We have just entered the season in which actually planting some seeds and seedlings in a greenhouse would work and I had some good plans. However...

Today, we had a strong wind advisory. I took my family to church and as we came home, I looked into my backyard. "Oh no, that is so unfortunate." yes, I actually talk that way. My greenhouse had been assaulted by a gust of wind that had picked it up and dropped it on its head/roof. Strange how my lawn chair was still just sitting in the yard next to it having not moved an inch. I had broken glass all over my garden as it seemed to have exploded on impact. After about an hour long clean up effort, I was left with one really large window that used to be the wall of my greenhouse and the roof frame still had one window in it. Other than that, all I had was a wheelbarrow full of wood and shards of glass.

Tempted too mourn and pout about this unfortunate situation, I simply turned my heart toward heaven and God began to speak.

He simply stated that "the greenhouse is broken. It is time for my garden to grow in the elements.". I understand this to mean that the season we find ourselves in right now is not one that is conducive to spiritual growth (we have been in the season of the greenhouse and we chose not to take advantage of it).

Yet while this environment we are in is not ideal for fruitful living, God has planned this for our blessing. Just like to flower that pushes its way through the concrete in the middle of main street, we have been called to bear fruit in season and out of season. We have been called to be in this world but not of it. We have been called to effect change in our environment, not to be changed by it. What the Lord is doing here in this day is not unprecedented though.

The children of Israel were brought straight to the desert in order to see the most superb growth they have ever known as a nation. Deserts are inhospitable to every kind of growth apart from spiritual growth. It seems that we humans are opposed to growing spiritually when we ate given all of the best an environment can offer.

Think about this, we can go to Walmart and by a bible in just about any version we want. If we can't find it there, we can go to the grocery store. We don't even have to go to the Christian bookstore. If we want to here a specific sermon, we can dial it up by topic on the Internet or on iTunes. If we think it is too offensive, we can just change channels till we find something that tickles our ears better.

In stark contrast, the portions of this world that are seeing the most significant spiritual growth are those places with the least opportunity; those not in a greenhouse, if you will. Africa and Asia are skyrocketing towards Jesus while we are already in boredom with the Jesus we have too much of and are always looking for alternative Messiahs.

God, in His rich mercy and kind intentions is going to help us out.

We are entering into a season of great pruning and adversity. The purpose of this is that we may also see a great surge of righteousness in Christ; that the Kingdom of Heaven would be found in our midsts with such prevalence; that we look more like Jesus than MTV or Hollywood; that our lives would be fantastical signposts that point directly to Jesus rather than pale imitations of what the world system has offered up.

Right now our church meetings tend toward the massive multi-media productions that place more emphasis on curb appeal than on meat. We as a Church are more concerned with getting people in the door than what we actually give them once they are in.

Again, God is the one who us going to come to our rescue. We have spent too much time at the buffet line and gotten spiritually lethargic. We need this. We really do. Thank you God for your unfailing love.

Lord, please give us the wisdom to see the joy in order to endure the suffering. Draw us to you and together as a body. Let us not be forsaken. Let's us put out hope and trust in you alone.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. More so, I welcome your partnership in praying for the season we about to enter. The world needs the Church to stand now more than ever. The Church needs to be able to stand in adversity. Lord, in Your mercy, come quickly.