Most important lessons

Over the last few weeks I've been rather nostalgic when I think of leaving the Twin Cities. There's enough farm girl in me that I won't miss the city but I will miss the friends I have made and I will especially miss my church. Over three years ago I wrote about why I chose to be a part of Twin Cities Church. Since then I've come to appreciate this group of believers on a deeper level. My main regret in moving away is not being able to continue to be a part of this family and what God is doing among and through them. I'm especially thankful for the people who have been a part of my house church. We've eaten a meal together each week and shared our lives together. That includes the good and the bad, the struggles and the victories. We have prayed for each other through the mundane of school, jobs, and housing issues as well as through painful losses and long periods of waiting. This is a very generous group of people. Calls to meet practical needs are always abundantly met. For me personally, when I needed a place to stay for a month I had three offers before the end of the day. They have walked with me through the transition back to the US and gone from being new friends to family. They grieved with me when my brother died and rejoiced when I finally finished my studies.  

During my time with this house church we spent a year in Ephesians, the next in Colossians before spending most of the past year in Ephesians once again. That seemed like lots of repetition at times but I needed it as I've been a rather slow learner. I grew up hearing gospel themes so maybe it takes longer for them to really sink in. I've come to appreciate that it is not enough to simply articulate the gospel. It also needs to be internalized and lived. My house church leaders often repeated two key gospel ideas. One is that we shouldn't hide or hold on to our sin because sin is no longer who we are; it doesn't define us. Because of this we should expose it to the light of the gospel. The other is that because Jesus lives in me I can __(fill in the blank)_. I may think that there is no way I can forgive or be filled with gratitude in all circumstances instead of coveting. But Jesus can and he lives in me, which means that I can. I've spent a lot of my life trying do what God requires while hiding my failures. It's been healing for me to be in a community where the grace and redemption of the gospel are central so sin is both taken seriously and addressed with grace and redemption. Though being a student was my primary occupation during my entire time in the Twin Cities, the most important lessons I learned weren't in the classroom. Rather they were learned from the Spirit in the midst of a family of believers while studying the word.