Freedom

"Where the spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom...freedom reigns in this place, showers of mercy and grace." I feel compelled to share with you my experience on Freedom Court. First, a moment of explanation. Freedom Court is a governmental housing project in Middletown, OH. It is less than asthetically appealing and is covered by trash. Piece of blankets and children's sheets are often used as curtains, and the sign is tarnished by markings of various gangs. Yet, it is here that I felt so free in Christ. Thus, I will be playing off of the word freedom, which is especially poetic since I spent some time in a grungy place called Freedom Court. My dear Sunday School teacher wrote a song about "the least of these." Her song is absolutely breathtaking and the lyrics are so convicting. For the greater part of my life, I believed the spirit of God to dwell the strongest in the church sanctuary. While I am not lessening the presence of the LORD in these hallowed places, I am suggesting that maybe we have limited the presence of God. It has been my humble and heartbreaking experience that God's presence can often be felt the most when dealing with "the least of these." Note: I am in no way referring to the children of freedom court as lesser human beings. However, it is rather unfortunate that society has labeled children such as the residents' of freedom court as "lesser", and while I do not agree with this terminology, I will adhere to it for the sake of pagination (or blogination). Somedays I cannot help but think we have it all wrong. When I say "we", I am referring to the Christian community. We build elaborate churches with padded pews and diffuse the scent of vanilla throughout the church as we "welcome" the presence of God yet push away the hurting. I cannot help but wonder if we can truly "welcome" the presence of God while simultaneously pushing away the unbelievers. Let me give a few examples. Can we truly welcome the presence of God when the homeless, who smell and do not wear the latest fashions, feel completely out of place. Would not the Father be dismayed? Similarly, can we welcome the presence of God when the "unchurched" feel incompetent and ignorant by the church lingo we so loosely throw around? I would argue that we cannot. Christ made it very clear that His purpose was to heal the sick, save the lost, befriend the friendless, and father the fatherless. If this was His purpose, and dare I say, his mission, how can we welcome His presence without presenting his "peeps." Another example, my father is a physician. Apart from the argument of preventive health care, without the sick my father, as a physician, would be completely lost. His job would essentially become pointless. How can you welcome a physician into a work setting to do his job without presenting some ailing bodies? You cannot. So, yes, it was on the dirty basketball court and the itchy grass that I felt connected to God. While I love beautiful sanctuaries, sometimes I need to sit with the overlooked to remember who my Savior truly is. Peace & Blessings.