"We came to the land you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who live in the land are strong..." Numbers 13:27
The Bright Side of Life
By Rev. William Dohle
A few weeks ago I was speaking to someone at church. They were sharing their experience of the past...
"You know, pastor, we use to have so many kids in Sunday school and church. The place was packed. Now there's not that many. We need to get them back, but I'm afraid we're not going to do it..."
Have you heard something like that said? A statement that appears to be a positive turned into a negative?
In my neck of the woods, those statements usually start in the past...
We use to...And then they move into the present...only not in a good way.
But now we can't...And finally they follow into the dark future.
And I don't think we'll...I've heard them so many times before I can usually point them out...in others and in myself. I too have pined after the days gone by, in hopes that God will bring back the past into the present.
What do we do with negativity? When our view goes from good to bad? What do we do with ourselves and our lives? How do we face the day when every day is darker?
The people of Israel faced the same thing after they sent into Canaan their spies. Twelves spies went, one from each of the tribes of Israel, to check out the land. The text says...
Moses sent them to spy out the land...and see what the land is like and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees or not. (Num. 13:17-20)So twelve go out...and what do they find? They find a land inhabited already by the Canaanites, a diverse group of people from various tribes. They find grapes which they bring back on a pole and pomegranates and figs. They find everything just as the Lord had told them it would be.
Good report...right?
Only this report gets a little askew, for when Moses asks them what they thought of it, they replied:
"We came to this land to which you sent us...Yet the people who live int he land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large, and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there...We are not able to go up against these people, for they are stronger than we are."
Talk about a downer report. Yes it's exactly what God had promised them...but they're unable to take it. Oh well...time to go back to Egypt, I guess.
Only Caleb and Joshua stood against them and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it."
Only two out of twelve remained positive in God's faithfulness!
The ELCA, of which I'm a part of, has experienced declining church membership and worship numbers. Many point our liberal point of view. Others point to generational trends. And still others to the schism that split many of our congregations, forcing us into decline.
The numbers look bleak. There's only giants and dragons in the land, we say. We will never survive!
Many people still pine after the days gone by, when our Sunday schools were jam packed, our services needed more services, and everyone was looking for a second pastor and couldn't find one. They, like the people of Israel, look back at Egypt and think, "At least there I had something to eat. It may not have been perfect...but I'll take it back still!"
Sadly, those days are gone forever. And though many still wish we could have what we had then, it's time to look ahead. It's time to stop dreaming about the days when things were bigger and better than they are now and focus instead on what God has in store for us today!
What does our Promised Land look like? What challenges will await us there? What possibilities will open up? What will the church look like when we cross the Jordan and enter into God's country?
That imagineering, it's hard! It's really hard work! The people of Israel complained about their living conditions in the wilderness and imagined the worse because they couldn't imagine anything else. It is said too that, of those who went with Moses into the wilderness, there were even more who stayed back in Egypt. Why? Why wouldn't they go with Moses and with God? Maybe because the past is so comfortable and quiet and not as scary as facing an uncertain future.
What will we do in the church? I think that remains to be seen. God isn't done with us yet, that's for sure. Our churches may start looking more eccumenical. We may find ourselves combining buildings or abandoning the church building model all together. We may find ourselves in the homes of the faithful, around bread and wine. Or we may find that our church has become the home of other churches too, a community of communities all in the same place.
Whatever happens know this. His kingdom will come, with or without our help. Even as we decline, thousands of Christians are made every day in places like Africa, South America, and Asia.
So let us not worry ourselves over the reports too much. Let's focus on the future and what opportunities God may have for us there. After all, even a walled city can be brought down by the voice of God.
God of possibilities, give us the vision you gave to Joshua and Caleb who saw potential and possibilities when others saw failure. Amen.
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