Messy people

"If there are no oxen, the manger is empty ; It is to the strength of the oxen that we owe the abundance of revenue" (Proverbs 14: 4). The English version translates "empty" to "clean."

The book of proverbs says that you can have a clean barn, provided you do not have beef inside.

You can have a "clean church" where everything is in order and perfectly structured, but we want to have an ox inside. If you've ever been close to an ox, you know that they need on the ground, that they sneeze and blow their noses on the ground, that they smell bad and that they throw everything in their path - It is a real bazaar !

Would you agree with me to work in a bazaar church ? Would you agree if I asked God to send us the most disorganized people in this city ?

Who do you think when I talk about disorderly people? To drug addicts in the alleys ? Or at the Lafayette galleries where people shop with their "gold" credit card, driving a Lexus ? Because they are both disorderly people. When I speak of disorderly people, I speak of myself and I speak of you. I also talk about addicts and homeless people, and strangers and people who are not like us - everyone at the same time. And the simple truth is this: we all need Jesus !

Amen ? We just need Jesus. We need Him in our churches. We need Him in our lives. We need Him in our families. We need Him in our ministry. We need to be able to live the gospel to which He has called us. The daily distribution (see Acts 6: 1-2) is made by disorderly people helping untidy people and it is not always well made. But I thank God that there are lawyers in the church who do not accuse but who say : "We want to do it right ! We want to do it well ... for His glory."

Gary Wilkerson