Gordon MacDonald once wrote about how churches should have X-ray machines
for your soul when you walk in for worship.
But unlike the TSA, we are not searching for weapons or what is
dangerous, but rather we want to know what is in our soul. Church as a space to go into those cobwebbed
corners in our lives that most of us don’t dare to step into most of the
time. Unfortunately, the church, with
our love of words, doesn’t give you much space or a place to pray your high,
low, and just so-so of life. We fill
every second of worship with some sound or song, lest you become bored. We jam more content in and then offer you a
Morning Meditation each day so that we can point to being productive (eek! that
hits close to home!). The X-ray
machine MacDonald imagined wasn’t for judgment or to rain down guilt, but to
open space for grace to do its work.
God is not the audience receiving our prayers and praise at
worship. God already knows us fully. The psalmist says, “Search and know me,
God.” (Psalm 139) because we need God to
hold up the mirror to our lives.
What is in your soul today? There may be clutter from this year or dating back decades. Maybe it is something fresh and raw that we
don’t care to admit and aren’t ready to accept.
Maybe it is a moment of peace sipping tea or stillness at night.
Note: our church will not be installing X-ray machines…I
hear you saying, “Thank God!” Because
God already knows us fully and loves us unconditionally. It is a great lie to think, “God won’t love
me if God knew…” God knows your wounds
and wants. God knows your longings,
losses, and loves. And prayer is a
practice of bringing this into the light of affection and acceptance so God
might help us process the pain rather than keep passing it along to
others.
What is the high, low, and so-so of your soul today? May this invitation awaken you to the One who
is at work here and now. Amen.
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