On Sunday, as we were clearing the stage after church, I was
putting away Justin’s in-ear monitor set. Sitting on the shelves are a dozen
more sets, all labeled, with people I (and I know Justin) love so deeply. And
miss so deeply since many are not able to join us for “in person” services for
various reasons.
It has been on my mind a lot the last couple of weeks. As
people who say they are part of the Church (as in the all believers) attack and
tear down each other. I was finding myself worn down, frustrated, and just broken
hearted. Most of the time, I wasn’t the one being personally attached, so why
was it affecting me the way it was?
And I stood staring at those untouched monitor sets it started
to make sense.
Excluding my actual household, there are many times my “church family” are closer to me than anyone else is.
- We get the amazing opportunity to sing/worship our amazing Savior together. Every week (and sometime more) we get to celebrate together, sing together, as my husband puts it (paraphrase), “we get to sing as one voice with the believers from the past, present and future.” THAT is powerful.
- We get to pray together. When one of us is hurting we reach out to one another for a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, a word of encouragement, or even a word of accountability. My church family knows what is going on in our lives. They check on us and I KNOW, God uses them constantly to reach out to us when we need it most (even when I don’t ask for it).
- We learn together. We spend time in God’s word. Learning and growing. DISCUSSING (did I say that loud enough?) We work through the scripture together. We struggle through the meaning and application of His incredible word. We learn from each other and challenge each other.
Do you see it yet? Did you notice how much of that includes
attacking, insulting, tearing down, belittling, etc?
None.
Because as the Body of Christ we are to work together. That
doesn’t mean “agree” with everything. We work THROUGH the disagreements. And
PRAY for each other. If we end up on different “sides” of a discussion that is
OK, still Pray. Pray for God to make things clear to THEM (hint: or maybe even
you). And still LOVE them. Still RESPECT them. Still worship, pray, and grow in
your faith as the body of Christ.
So, as I miss, so very badly, my church family all being together
in one place I will find peace in knowing that we are still part of the same
body. This crazy, diverse, and beautiful body of believers from thousands of
years ago, to today, to the days to come.
P.S. I MISS my Worship Team people so much! I love you guys
extra special because as you all know, music has a special way of building
beautiful bonds (and great harmonies)
