Lars and the real girl
I went to see this movie called “Lars and the real girl.” It is a story about this guy, Lars who is a bit of a recluse and a social misfit. He lives in the garage of his brother and sister-in-law’s house. He has a sort of vanilla folder job and he’s incredibly socially inept. He is a gentle soul, but underneath there is something wrong, something out of order.
He is a church goer by the way, and appears to take his faith pretty seriously. Everyone in the town seems to have a bit of a soft spot for him. Then, for no apparent reason he develops a delusion. He orders a “real-life” doll, and begins introducing her around town (beginning with his brother & sister-in-law) as his new girlfriend. The thing is he is deadpan serious. Now this is quite funny in the beginning, but then when he doesn’t stop it becomes a dilemma for this entire town. What in the world do they do about Lar’s “synthetic” girlfriend. (Whom, by the way he has stay at his brother’s house to avoid any appearance that they are behaving inappropriatly.)
Go see the movie, if your inclined toward the quirky. I really liked it.
But it also touched off some thoughts
The entire town comes along side this guy and loves him and helps him work through the things that brought him to the delusion. It struck me as a powerful image of the way in which Christ works in and through his people to bring healing and restoration to their lives. Lars is a picture of sinful human beings, filled with struggles, lonliness, sadness and all manner of foolishness. He is me. His libility happened to be his social ineptness, but we all have our own. God gave us the possibility of a “real” common life in Christ through which a measure of healing can come. When Christ is alive and working in a body of people inevitably this must express itself in relationships which act as conduit for the love of Christ. John the apostle speaks of loving your brother who you can see, as a necessary extension of loving God who is invisible.
Over twenty-five years ago I was drawn to the ARC, to Ray Nethery and to the work of renewal that God was bringing through this little band of brothers. I was in my twenties, I was disillusioned with the church and had no plans of ever being a pastor. Yet, through the kindness of Ray, and the example of other godly men and women, God changed all that. Those days were characterized by an incredible feeling of adventure and of breaking new ground. I saw examples of how the church could be, or how relationships could work and of how community could actually bring new levels of wholeness to my life. I will forever be thankful to Jesus for the day he led me through the doors of Grace Fellowship in Mansfield, Ohio. Where would I be today if it were not for Ray and the dear brothers like David Wheat, Tim Barber, Larry Evans, Tom Padley, Rick Widner, and Ned Berube (to name just a few).
I feel that feeling of adventure once again as many of us have set a course for revival, and all that goes along with a wave of the Holy Spirit. I have given my heart to studying revival, to studying the scriptures which promise refreshment, to praying and seeking as have many of you. But I desperately want to see everyone at Lamb enter into this in whatever way they are able. Some of you may not understand why there is a relentless focus on revival. Some of you may think we are becoming extreme, or perhaps even getting a bit “loopy.” I pray that you will talk to me, or to others who share this passion and discover what it is that God is doing in many of our hearts.
I’m the sort of person who loves to see that everyone who comes to a party is having a good time. I can’t really enjoy myself if I see people being left out, or withdrawing. That’s just how I am wired. I feel that relative to revival times ten! I want to see the fulness of the life which Jesus promised being experienced by everyone in the church. I know that there is a certain price that God is calling us to pay in terms of prayer, and perseverance. My experience has shown, and continues to show me that not everyone is willing to pay that price. There was a time not to long ago where I was unwilling to pay that price. But I am so thankful that God did a work in my heart to change that. Now I can’t imagine living without relentlessly pursuing God and seeking His face.
May I ask you, brothers and sisters at Lamb (and anyone else who happens on this blog) to consider asking the Lord to do a new work in your heart? I don’t believe that God is honored by leaders “pressuring” people to do this or that. I think human persuasion, while powerful is a poor substitute for the work the Spirit does in the soul of a person. I am simply asking you to ask for that work to be done.
I promise you, and I am so certain of this - God is going to answer the prayers that we have been praying. As dear Ben reminded us (his essay is on this blog, entitled “A word from Stamps”), he is already beginnning to bring a light rain, a prelude to the downfalls we are praying for. I believe that it is the life of the community that God will energize with revival fire, and that life will become a great magnet to those who desperately need to find their way to God, or their way back to God. At the end of the day some of the most supernatural things we will witness will not be what we expect. God will powerful anoint love, filling us and overflowing that love into the world around us in ways that will absolutely dazzle us. Do I hope for miraculous healings and various dramatic manifestations of the Spirit’s working… you bet I do! But it is the greatest miracle, the conversion of lost people that most energize my heart.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
My heart is trembling, watching, hearing what God is doing there in NJ. Would you mind praying for Spirit of Christ church here in Michigan, and send some of that “rain” our way? We are on “the edge of the edge” as Pastor Lewis would say. … thanks, and press on. I am inspired by you all!:)