I have a new recurring dream. In this dream I have a piece of land with an old barn. The family live in part of the barn that has been converted into a home, but much of the barn remains dangerously derelict. There are places where the sky can be seen through the roof, and places where the roof timbers desperately need to be replaced. Despite the dangerous structure I continue to use this part of the barn for storage, even climbing into the loft area. Thankfully one can throw caution to the wind in a dream. The problem is that real life is full of danger and challenges where caution cannot be thrown to the wind.
The barn in my dream needs a huge amount of work. This is work I assume that I cannot afford, hence the state of the place. The dream got me thinking about church, especially the early church – the one that didn’t have a building and is so very different to the average church of 2015. If I compare the church of today to the barn of my dream then it is only partially habitable. There are holes in the roof and the structure in places is unstable. Finance may or may not be available to make the building watertight and safe. But if finance were available, would watertight and safe be the sort of improvement the Landlord wants? Perhaps the Landlord would prefer that the tenants were not huddled around inside the building, but outside in the big wide world where the real people live?
I believe it is all about vision: God’s vision, not ours. And if we forget to ask Him what His vision is, or spend so much time talking in His presence that we are unable to listen then we end up reducing Him to little more than a landlord; someone who collects the rent and nothing more.
The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone. ’ But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king. ’
“After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’
“‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
“The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
“‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
“But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
“‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’
“‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’
“‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king – bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.” (Luke 19:11-27 NLT)
Ebs and Flows... 
nataliescarberry said:
Wow, awesome post. You are so right. We are often so busy with our own agendas, we neglect ask Him what His plan is! Thanks for the reminder. Love the music too. Hugs, N 🙂 ❤
David said:
Thank you Natalie. I couldn’t think of any Christian songs about barn conversions but I think this one presents a suitable challenge of going back to the start. When I look at the disciples they followed, they trusted, they listened and they obeyed. We are OK at becoming followers but somewhere along the way the trusting, listening and obeying seems to get forgotten.
I took the photo a couple of years ago on a bike ride – this ‘barn’ was a place selling stone, concrete slabs, etc., for gardens. I think it went out of business (position was not ideal). It stood semi-derelict for quite a while but in the last year has been rebuilt and has a nice new palisade fence, gates and everything, but it remains empty and without a tenant. There is a lesson there for the church I think!
Julie (aka Cookie) said:
what an interesting dream David—sounds like there is much which subconsciously you feel is hanging over your head—a burden perhaps—and maybe this little blog here is part of the plan of unburdening what has been laid heavy on your thoughts–those known and unknown—reminds me so much of a young Francis who before the cross in a dilapidated old chapel prayed and heard God telling him that His house was in ill repair and that he, Francis, needed to go tend to it and help rebuild it. . .dreams can be interesting like that 😉
David said:
The last few years have been tough in a variety of ways Julie. I dream a lot but start to take notice when the same dream starts to repeat itself. Strangely enough the idea of living in a converted barn has never appealed to me, yet here I am dreaming about such a thing.
Along with this post I have had several other reminders of vision this week – the need for it and the need for it to be God’s vision not mine or the church’s.
The other thing that God has been laying on my heart is the need to be joyful in all situations. Our joy in Him is stolen too easily as life burdens us and Satan attacks us.
Blessings, David
Julie (aka Cookie) said:
I totally understand David–I know how life has been and I too am obviously needing to hear what God is saying to me in all of the challenges and issues—yet mine has not be a dream of barns 🙂
David said:
The dream perspective is an interesting one. I have such clarity of certain dreams and I know that God speaks through dreams. Another case perhaps of are we listening?!
snowgood said:
Like the scriptures here as they re-enforce my view that the 21st Century Church has misinterpreted the nature of our God. He may well be a God of love, but he hates (and punishes) sin – except in the lives of those who acknowledge his authority.