The Castle

Face The Wall

The horn is blown!  The alarm is spread.  “Close the gates!” is shouted from the lookout.  “They are coming!” is cried out.  The Kingdom stops.  Everyone froze in anticipation of the danger approaching.  The gates are pulls shut, the drawbridge withdrawn.  Maids and cooks, butlers and stable hands retreat into the safety of the castle cellars. All in wait for the danger to pass.  The knights mount their steeds.  Soldiers armed and ready stand at attention, all waiting for the imminent attach.

Across the field, one would expect an army of tyrants, ready to seize.  But instead of soldiers and weapons, all that approaches is on single person.  Someone with cloths, warn and outdated.  Hair is askew and teeth may be crooked.  Voice a little boisterous or smile a bit timid.  No sword to slash or arrow to pierce, only one longing spirit continuing to search.  But even though the threat seems so small, so silly to some, to those within the walls this one is to be feared.

We walk into church every Sunday.  Welcome faces give greeting, friends say hello.  The worship team plays, the pastor gives teaching.  The offering plate passed, prayers are shared.  We fellowship and talk over coffee and cake.  Then slowly, as if on cue, people start leaving, each to their homes.  Some go for dinner, other to nap but everyone leaves to resume the lives that they live.  Did anyone notice, or did they not want to see, the couple in back, standing alone.  He stands tall but his eyes reflect loss.  She huddles close, cradling her child.  Someone says hi, another how are you?  But no one really stops to ask them their names or waits to hear the state of their story.  Each keep going on their merry way, no one to notice the souls lost in their midst. 

I know it is hard to step out of your comfort zone and speak to another.  This coming from someone who is a professional wall flower.  But occasionally the opportunity arises, that God gives me chance to speak to another.  Another wondering soul searching for answers.  I know how they feel and relate to their fears.  I get a chance to bring encouragement and words of true hope.  I also know what it is like to be the outsider, continuing to peer in but not feeling a part.  I have always fells bless but those special souls that have stepped outside their own lives and made me feel I belong. 

Some who walks through your door may be less than expected, some have baggage they carry, others swords at the ready.  Some have history of pain, others live among storms.  But each one has one thing in common, that small invisible place, God built in every one.  They search for the answer to the one real question that every life faces at one point or another.  Does anyone love me?  

Those who have Christ living out through them, have a treasure so dear, that it must be shared.  No matter the person or the history they bear, they deserve this treasure as much as you do, to be theirs.  Don’t be afraid, don’t be the judge, your mission is simple.  Open your mind and clear out your heart.  Let the treasure of Christ poor out onto all that come near.   

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

Building Walls

Rebuilt

It can be really difficult sometimes to see God’s image in the people we come in contact with.  The checkout clerk at the store, he does his job nothing more, no smile, no hello, the only words he speaks being the amount you owe for your small collection of goods.  Why is he like that, why does showing welcome to a stranger seem so impossible to him?  Does he think he is better than others?  Does he fear what others will think of him, if they see below that solid impenetrable wall that he hides in the depths of? 

Maybe that’s the problem, walking through every day we only see the walls built up on the outside, sometimes brick, sometimes stone or wood, but still they are walls.  You can’t see through them, or around them, all you can see is what the person hangs on them.  Sometimes they may dress them in beautiful clothes, other times they may be rags.  Sometimes the walls are constantly moving and changing, other times they are still and solid not giving to any passing force.  Sometimes you may see a smile or a hello but other times just blank eyes refusing to give clue to what lays behind. 

I think we all have this set of walls we instinctively build around the mansion of our souls.  The only thing is how thick do we build those walls?  How do we decorate or display them?  I love and am amazed when I come in contact with someone who has somehow conquered the age old desire to build those walls and has completely or at least mostly obliterated those walls.  Instead you get to see huge bay windows and doors, breath taking artwork adorning the rooms within.  These people let all see the beautiful bright soul that lived within the mansion of their being.  Outside, may be ordinary or unusual,  but inside you get a full view of the beauty of the soul that is within. 

When Christ stated to let your light shine these are the people who have completely and ultimately conquered this task.  They let it shine like a bright lighthouse on a rocky shore.  Through the storms that stir they still shine to all who see them.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)