Dear First Family and Friends,
I retired from the Air Force after 24 plus years. While the ceremony took place on March 8th, 2011, much took place before that day. One of the more significant things was a class called “Transition Assistance Program” (TAP). Among other things, TAP taught me to imagine myself in a post-Air Force life. That might sound weird, but my life was shaped by 24 years of cutting my hair a certain way, wearing certain clothes every day, and doing certain work every day. I needed to imagine a new kind of life in order to figure out what I’d be doing in that new life. I thought I was in good shape as I imagined myself a high school math and science teacher who coached the baseball team.
Our imaginations are gifts from God. He gives them to us to help us envision the future and prepare for that future. Paul instructs us that God helps us to envision a future even greater than we could possibly imagine on our own, “(He) is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20) We may “think,” or as the Greek word Paul uses – “imagine,” we know what God’s plans are for us, but the reality is that God’s ideas are far greater than we can imagine!
So, how do we align our limited imaginations with His far more abundant imagination? First, we do as Paul does in the passage contained in Ephesians 3:14-21. We pray. As we pray, we listen to God as He guides us – often hearing what others around us, those He speaks to us through, say to us. We also listen as He tugs on our hearts – moving us in certain directions. Then, as we begin to “comprehend … the breadth and length and height and depth … (and) be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19) we pray some more, consult with others, and pray again.
As I was imagining my future as a teacher, which I thought was pretty imaginative. But, God definitely had different ideas in His imagination. Through prayer and spending time in His word, He enabled me to comprehend His plan … and today, after much more prayer, consultation with my family and pastor, and more prayer, here I am … a pastor … a kind of teacher and coach I guess, but much different than I imagined. What is God imagining for you?
God also imagines the future of His church … it is much grander than we can envisage. First Lutheran for example, began as a “house church” in Al and Sally Plusch’s living room. Today, First Lutheran sits at one of the busiest intersections in Calvert County and owns 4.5 acres of undeveloped land. What is God imagining that we do with this prime location and the resources He’s blessed us with? I urge you to pray about this. God will provide all we need to fulfill His vision of “joyfully proclaiming God’s word and enthusiastically sharing Christ’s love” with those He puts in our lives – coworkers, classmates, neighbors, and passersby. Imagine the possibilities! God will enable His people to do that and more!
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim