Infection

the church in general, but specifically about how the church is engaging in younger generations. It was a really great conversation, but as we talked someone brought about the idea that if our churches were really alive,

would reaching people, of any age, be really that difficult? It wasn’t a matter of Relevant or Engaging or really any of the buzz words (though those are valuable), but was more about the infectious-ness that our faith has over us.

As soon as that idea of being an infectious church sprouted in the group, I had a flashback to Joy’s foot problems.

As many of you know, we had a health issue this past summer. Joy was weeding the small flower

garden in front of our new home and a tick bit her foot. What ensued was a lost summer due to the infection that she picked up from the stupid little bug. I knew that bug

bites could be serious – I had heard of Lime’s disease and other similar problems, but this was consuming. Joy was diagnosed with a MRSA related infection as a result of this tick. Her foot was in pain, she couldn’t walk on it, it was constantly swollen, she had to keep it elevated, it wore her completely out! We revamped our entire summer and our activities around what she could and couldn’t do on her feet – even shopping became an issue.

That tick changed our life – even today, if she’s on it too much her foot will start to hurt. Is it possible that this is the same kind of desire God has for His church? Is it possible that the work of Holy Spirit living in and through the people called Christians is something that is infectious and life changing?

I know most of my readers have had your life forever changed by the person of Jesus. However I feel compelled to ask, has your life been changed so that it infects others a

round you? Is the move of the Holy Spirit dripping off of you and touching other lives without even meaning to? As I read Scripture and see the work of the Holy Spirit poured out on those early followers, I see a church that was viral – it was an evasive infection of love that ransacked the Roman World! It wasn’t angry and bitter, but was loving and so Jesus that her opponents gave them the name “little christ’s” as a joke. Our world isn’t that much different from the world of Peter, Paul, John, Timothy and

the early church. We live in a world that is in deep need of that kind of infectious LOVE of Jesus.

You know I really hated that tick! I hated that we “lost” trips and walks and journeys this summer. But as a result of that tick, I also got to see my kids care for mommy, bring her icepacks and be okay with how the infection was altering their lives – they were far more patient than I was! They let the infection be a part of who they were – I wonder what could happen if we, as the church, embraced this idea of infection? How could our lives be changed and how could the viral spread of the God of Grace, Peace and Love spread through out a different kind of empire, if we just let the bite happen?

Grace and Peace!