We are a church on the move. Again. This was not on my To Do list.
But, God.
There is this grand tradition in scripture of God’s church on the move. He’s never been content to keep His people in one place for long. In Genesis, Noah was displaced by all the waters of the earth. Abraham was called away from his home and sent to a new land. Joseph would certainly not have chosen to go to Egypt by way of slavery and false imprisonment, but God needed him to move in order to save the Jews. The Israelites were later freed from slavery in Egypt only to face the long, frightening road to the promised land.
In the first century, we see the perfect alignment of Roman might that engineered both an environment of intense persecution for the early Christians and an efficient system of roads that forced those Christians to flee for their lives.
And the gospel was on the move.
Jesus' disciples travelled extensively to preach and teach God’s fledgeling church. The early Christians often moved their worship from home to home to avoid discovery. Paul travelled across the known world at great personal cost and and risk to deliver the Good News to the gentiles.
We all know the stories of missionaries moved to take the gospel to far-flung tribes all over the world. Of families like the Ten Booms, forcibly taken from their family home and moved to Hitler’s concentration camps, where even in desperate conditions, they were faithful to share the hope of Jesus and minister to those imprisoned with them. Throughout history, God has called His church to go. And even today He continues to move His people.
Moving. It’s what God does.
Given a choice, I’d like very much to stay in one place. I’d love to stop lugging our gear around. I can’t wait until we no longer need to set up and tear down an entire church each Sunday. I want our own building. And I really want to stop moving.
But, God.
He has chosen to move Pathway Moon again. I don’t know why and it doesn’t matter anyway. We are not crossing the Red Sea or wandering in the desert for 40 years. We are certainly not being arrested or risking our lives to meet together.
We are just moving.
And that is okay, because we know that God’s plan is always good. Even when it’s not our plan; when it’s feels uncomfortable. Hard. When we want to dig in our heels and stay put, God says, Go.
And so, we are a church on the move. Again.
Praise God.