there's this quiet, underground society, still thriving. it was established in 1740. it has always been composed of ordinary men and women in all spheres of life. they are scattered across continents. they will live and die for Jesus' name.
and tonight about 20 of them were in our living room.
these are friends who decided that they wanted to make vows to God in the company of one another to devote themselves to three simple rules of life:
1) be true to Christ
2) be kind to others
3) take the gospel to the nations
it's sorta like marrying Jesus.
we shared a meal (oh the warmth and coziness in the house tonight!) and then sat down together in a circle in the living room to hear tell of how the three-fold vow has impacted the lives of those who are in The Order.
it's a great group of people and the kingdom of God is manifesting in such lovely and unexpected ways in each pairing of people (e.g., pub church, CPx, home-making, prayer room planting, crossing guard ministry, adoption, bearing witness in the secular workplace).
but what they all attest to is this: that from the day they took that vow the intentions of their heart have been reoriented. they are now pointed in a different direction. as their rings say, "None of us lives for himself." as they have asked themselves these three questions each day and striven to be faithful to them, their lives are taking on new form.
so there's a group of us reading The Vision & The Vow by Pete Greig, the book which fleshes out more fully the values and implications of this vow. and very likely a bunch of us will be initiated into The Order very shortly by joining with this underground society in taking the vow.
my heart and life resonate with the substance of this vow, this order. and i know that i want in. it's just a matter of when and with whom to take the vow.
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