When I first stumbled through my overcrowded garage and my bare foot touched the tentacles on the floor, I let out a scream and jumped back.  With my phone flashlight in hand, I crept up, somewhat embarrassed, to realize these “tentacles” were instead a tenacious vine.

(We are in East Tennessee after all and pretty far from any invasion of an octopus, wink.)

But still I couldn’t figure out what the heck this vine was doing creeping under my door. It was so sickly. Clearly it was dying. I started to pull it up but stopped short.

I don’t know why I let this vine interrupt my mission. I was confounded. Why would a vine be trying to get IN my garage. There is no sunlight, no nutritional soil, no means of water.  It simply could NOT survive.

Then I heard this crazy whisper, “Raise the garage door.”

So I did.

“The gates of hell will not prevail.” I heard the Spirit say.

I stood there in awe.

Who knew this vibrant, green, luscious plant was on the other side of the garage door? Who knew is seemingly sickly yet unyielding vine was wholly and happily sustained by a stronger, larger network of plants?

This! This is what the true Church is. This is what the Body of Christ, the Life of God, whatever language you know, is all about.

Christ in us, the hope of glory.

This is what “Jesus alive in us” is all about. The plant is Not dying but fully alive in the mother plant. And the mother plant is spreading and multiplying in every direction.

Likewise, the Spirit of God in us is invading this world, even the dark, void of light garages of our world. And it is in a word, unstoppable.

We don’t have to be afraid of the dark.  Life is sliding under the door.

And the gates of hell cannot keep it out.