The Lubricant of the Human Differential

First let it be established that I am no mechanic. Neither am I educated in the slightest in the area of mechanics or mechanical engineering. If I get a flat tire I can fix that. If something basic and readily apparent goes wrong with my car I am not afraid to get out a wrench or preferably a hammer and give it a go. However anything more than a busted hose or worn belt and I am calling an actual mechanic. Someone like my brother Roy who has an understanding of what is really going on underneath the obviously visible. With this said I will try not to overstep my knowledge with the mechanical analogy I will use later.
Additionally I am relatively young in my faith and still searching for rudimentary balance. I never intend to present myself as an expert or some great thinker etc. I am just very hungry to learn, and what I write is based on my own appetite for illumination on the mysteries of our creator and the shape of His creation.

I am reading a really great book right now by Richard Dahlstrom. The book, entitled O2 subtitled Breathing New Life into Faith, is full of insightful material based on the authors real life pursuit of a life of faith in Christ. This book has helped me immensely. I have learned a great deal from it, so much so that this is the 3rd time I have read it in past 5 months.
In the introduction of the book Mr. Dahlstrom discusses a disconnect that exists in the church today. He presents the idea that Gods church is tragically divided between two groups. He terms them the inhalers and the exhalers. The inhalers are those who emphasize the importance of time spent seeking an intimate relationship with God. “Inhalers” are typified by their devotion to scripture, meditation and prayer. The exhalers on the other hand are those who assert the preeminence of living a life of service dedicated to expressing God outwardly. “Exhalers” are the people who get things done for Christ to the benefit of others.
Once Mr. Dahlstrom has established that there are these two differing views in the church surrounding how we are to live a life of faith, he then goes on to bring the two sides together. He attempts, very effectively in my opinion, to do this by establishing that these two differing views are not mutually exclusive. In fact he points out in order to exhale you must first inhale to have air in your lungs to expel.
I have found this so helpful because there is a tremendous battle within me to find a balance between the two extremes. Such is the case with me in all things and fighting the great pendulum swings inherent in the pursuit of an ideal is a great challenge in my journey of faith. Equally challenging for me is finding the patience and mercy to avoid judgment towards people who are on the opposite swing. To these ends I have been greatly aided by Mr. Dahlstrom’s book.

At the risk of losing continuity in this writing through excessive jumping around, I am going to approach my point from several angles. Then I will attempt to pull all of these together in the end to build cohesion. I ask that you bear with me and I hope that finally your patience will be rewarded with something beneficial that you can take from this.

Yesterday in church Pastor Ron Rhea delivered a message that rearranged my mind. It was certainly time for some spring cleaning. It may be fall in the world outside but for me I sense a great renewal and will call it spring in my spirit. So the message yesterday provided a brush for me to use to get into the hard to reach corners where the cobwebs had become thickest and coated with poisonous dust.
There is not time here for me to talk about all that was cleaned out or to elaborate on the new placement of the old furniture to make space for the new. Nor have all the changes settled in so that I can clearly articulate the new wineskin. What I can do is discuss one micro change within the macro change that is taking place.
I had these two distinctly separate ideas in my mind. The details of them are not important. What is relevant is that in my mind these two ideas were divergent to a point that I could not find a way for them to exist in my mind harmoniously. Either one of them sought to force the other out. In the midst of their struggle for dominance I was aware subconsciously or spiritually or somehow that neither of them could stand alone. I just knew deep down that they needed each other before either of them could become cognitive enough for me to proceed with a plan of action grounded in the perception. In the service yesterday as I sat and listened to my pastor this harmony was accomplished. These two thoughts became joined and are now one larger idea. The larger idea is one that I can pursue. In fact I can plainly see a way laid out before me. I love that, because for me exhaling is a very natural process however inhaling requires me to really concentrate and take my time. I am getting ready to breathe out now and that is what I long to do.

Don’t you just love confirmation? However it comes, confirmation that I am hearing what I think I am hearing and seeing what my eyes say I am seeing, is welcomed with exuberant expectation. So I got a little of that yesterday after church. Just in case the day hadn’t already been filled with enough of Gods radiant glory.

Maria and I had lunch with some families after church. We love to go to lunch with these particular folks because they aren’t just lunches where we eat nourishing food of a physical nature they are lunches where the spiritual food is every bit as abundant as whatever we happen to be putting in our bodies. So I am sitting there chewing and listening to a couple of these guys talking. They are discussing some weighty things about how God is establishing His kingdom through our church. They were both very passionate, but it became clear while listening that they were coming at the idea from different perspectives. One was focused on the need for inhalation while the other was adamantly trying to make the point that while inhaling was needed, the key was to be found in exhalation.
It was one of those moments. Everything just seemed to slow down for me. I have heard athletes talk about that happening during great feats of precise execution, and this was like that. It was like I could almost hear what they were going to say before they even said it and then in the middle of what was a very enlightening and productive conversation in its own right, I got this little nudge from the Holy Spirit. I was reminded of something that pastor said in the service. He said, and I know this isn’t word for word so I will do the best I can, “Love is the lubrication of human interaction. It prevents the parts from overheating with friction as they rub against each other.”
That was exactly what I was seeing at play. These two guys were saying nearly the same thing but from diametrical polar positions. It was obvious that the passion of the exchange was boiling with friction beneath the communication. Also to further intensify the situation. As I stated, what they were discussing was heavily loaded with purpose and divine revelation on both sides. More flawed men of less righteous character would have been shouting loud enough to disrupt the whole place, but these guys were composed. They demonstrated that foundationally their interaction was ruled by the principal of love.

That pretty well sealed the deal for me. I went home yesterday knowing that I had just had an experience that would forever change me. I am closer to understanding how love works today than I was yesterday. I still have miles to go, but the way is filled with beautiful moments and I look forward to the trip.

So to summarize, this is what I have learned. I hope the picture I am trying to paint in your mind is clear. I have collected bristles for the brush I am using from many sources. I don’t want to poorly reflect on them. So if my work is nebulous blame the artist and not the muse.

The word differential is loaded with meaning. It is used to constitute a difference. For example a differential exists between God and man. He is, we aren’t but try to be, put simply.
An automobile has a differential gear. In lay terms the purpose of this gear is to allow the power to be transferred from the engine to the wheels to move the car forward. It is called a differential gear because it allows two different axles to function cooperatively but also independently. Without it a car could go straight ahead with a great deal of success but would be very limited in its ability to make turns. Try getting somewhere like that.
Inside this gear a lot of friction builds up as the two separate axles spin. To absorb the heat created the housing for the gear is filled with axle grease. The grease dissipates the heat and preserves the integrity of the differential gear so that it can continue to function.
The church has many axles trying to move it forward. You probably didn’t think this would happen to you in an email talking about church composition etc. but I am calling you an AXLE. If you are part of a church you are an AXLE within that body. All the things that go into making you who you are drive you forward. You are the church, when you move forward, by definition the church moves forward.
It would sure be boring and seriously ineffective if we all were moved forward by the same motivations to the same exact places, not to mention noisy and crowded and sweaty and……………………. So we aren’t. We are all driven independently, hopefully by the spirit of God for the most part, but independently for sure. This makes it hard for us to respond as a unified group to curves in the way. It requires us to have a differential gear. We need something to allow us to operate independently but cooperatively. This is one function of what we commonly refer to as “The Church”. It provides commonality or community for our individuality.
When you get a lot of separate AXLES coming together to drive a community it creates a lot of friction. Corporately we need something so that the heat generated doesn’t burn us up. We want to build a place where God can come and be a consuming fire but we definitely don’t want to build a place that is itself consumed in the fire of public dissension.

What we need is LOVE. We need it in abundance. We can have it for a song, In fact if you quiet yourself you may just be able to hear God singing that song over you right where you are. It’s the song of creation, and love is one voice within the trio. His name is Jesus and He is the great gift we have been given. Let’s practice giving to others what He gave to us, the great gift of love. What better way to tell him thank you?