Room Full of Echoes
In a moment
where
“It’s tempting
to be distracted,
From the
call of faithfulness today,
By the lure
of tomorrow. . ."
When
obedience
Would
produce sorrow
All are
sucking Life
From The Marrow
There is no
regret at hand
When all
together stand
To do what
is called for
To take what
is in His Hand
"A room
so full of echoes,
They cannot
be contained"
For to the
world is our calling
We must not
be restrained
© April 17, 2012, Stevie Glor, Jill Rutz,
and Robbie Pruitt
While
looking through my Facebook news-feed one day, I ran across my friend Jill’s status,
which said, “It’s tempting to be distracted, from the call of faithfulness
today, by the lure of tomorrow. . ."
The next post in my news-feed was a comment by another friend of mine on
a photo of a mutual friend of ours. The
picture, by Penny Rauh, was of Church of the Epiphany’s first sanctuary on the
day of their move. The light was
streaming through the window leaving a shadow of a cross on the floor of an
otherwise darkened and empty space. The comment posted below the photo, by my
friend Stevie Glor, read, "A room so full of echoes, they cannot be
contained."
This month
Epiphany and many other churches in the Northern Virginia area will be vacating
their buildings. These churches have taken
a stand for Biblical orthodoxy and for the centrality of salvation in Jesus
Christ alone. Because of this stand,
they have suffered material loss through litigation, but have gained eternal
reward in their obedience to the one who has called them to stand. This poem, "Room Full of Echoes," pays tribute to those faithful members
of Church of the Epiphany, and
the other faithful churches, who have been true to their mission “To Stand for
Jesus Christ, to grow together as God's family, and to make Him known through
the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Having
served in ministry at Church of the Epiphany for seven years during this time
of standing for Christ, I have heard the beginnings of many of those echoes,
which will not be contained within those walls, and have participated in
creating some of them as well. While the
loss is real for so many, the gain is far more significant. The body and bride of Christ have been
faithful and obedient to their call to follow Jesus and to take His Truth to
the world. The church is the people, not
the facility surrounding them. These
temporary obstacles will never restrain the mission of Christ to the world, or hinder
the gathering of His faithful church. There
is no regret in doing what is called for in faithfulness and in obedience, and
there is no regret in receiving from God's hand His intended blessing and direction in
following His lead, whatever the consequence.
