Space Between
I’ve found my happy place! When the sun is setting at Doc’s House on Bonita Beach… it is heaven. There is nothing like a warm sandwich and a cold drink in the sand as the sun finds that pinkish-orange color. On most nights, a crowd of vacationers begins to gather because everyone wants to snap a picture in front of God’s glorious artwork.
In Genesis 1:4-5, we hear about how God created both day and night. Funny enough, it’s not the day and the night that we find most beautiful, it’s the time in-between. People around the globe stop what they’re doing at dusk and dawn to absorb the beauty that God has created. The sky is most beautiful when it’s not quite day and not quite night. Beauty lies within the ambiguity. Awe-full wonder is found in-between day and night.
As intelligent creatures seeking to better understand God, we must learn to let go of the false dichotomies that we insist upon. The truth is, we don’t live in a world that is black or white, or day and night. We live in a world that is grey. We live in a world filled with sunrises and sunsets. I recognize that life is complicated, but the solution to our confusion cannot be to hide from reality in an attempt to keep things simple. If we’re looking for “simple”, we won’t find it in Scripture. Likewise, we won’t find it in life.
As someone called to help people see God in new ways, I encourage you to look for God in the spaces between. Who are the people living in the dusk and the dawn? Who are the folks breaking the mold and smashing dichotomies? I’m interested in hearing from the people crushing the societal boxes that we have for far too long forced them in. I believe they have something important to teach us about God.
In 2011, Lamb of God Church became a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation. This designation means that we welcome and affirm members of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m wondering, “what does this mean for us twelve years later?” This Summer, we will examine the complexities of identity by reading, listening, and discussing the increasingly popular topics of identity and orientation. You are encouraged to participate, not with the goal of agreement, but to cultivate our curiosity about the world we live in together. Loving people whom we agree with is easy. It is loving people whom we disagree with that’s challenging.
Discerning together, the Church must find its voice on contemporary moral issues. Otherwise, we let Jesus become irrelevant. Over the next few months, be on the lookout for book studies, speakers, and events that help us understand who we are called to be as a congregation. Together, we will explore the places and people that live in-between night and day. I invite you to meet me at the beach and experience the beautiful sunset, where it is neither day nor night. God will be there beside us always. I imagine God will be thrilled by our desire to better know the vastness and diversity of her creation.
With toes in the sand,
Pr. Lucas McSurley
Photo by Camille Minouflet