The church had been fighting and grieving over something that had never been theirs. Oh, they had enjoyed it for a season, even used it for the benefit of the Kingdom, but it had never been theirs to own. It was a freedom afforded to them, but not theirs by right.

Imagine with me for a moment, a small country church in the middle of a country town. Fortunately for that church, beside its small run down building, was a plot of land owned by the town council. 70 years ago, a friendly mayor said to the church, “Feel free to use my land.” The church was so grateful. They held picnics and potluck lunches there, the children played together on the grass (which the town council mowed each week) while the teens stood in huddles. Once a month an outdoor outreach meeting was held on these lawns. The space was treasured.

Over time, the church grew more and more accustomed to the free use of this space, with more and more church members referring to it as ‘our’ lawn. They even extended their fence line to encircle the vacant block beside them, erected a sign—“Church Yard”. Eventually, a generation arose that couldn’t remember a time when they didn’t have full access to the vacant block.

One day, a notice was received, sent by the new mayor of the local council, informing them of the plans for a new development on the council owned block. A shopping mall would be erected there. The notice directed the church to remove their fence, and cease activity on the lawns. This was not received well.

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