Do we think about the importance of our church families? When was the last time that you thought to yourself, "man, I would be distraught if I lost contact with one of them"? Have you ever really thought about the importance of being in the family of the Church? Have you thought about the fact that we say "brothers and sisters" about our fellow church members, and what that should mean in regards to how we approach these relationships? Today, let's briefly look at what Jesus had to say about the family of God and how important it should be in our lives.
While Jesus was preaching one day, his mom and siblings came to wherever He was preaching and wanted to speak with Him. One of people around, probably a disciple, came up to Jesus at a break point and said "Hey, your mom and brothers are here and wanna talk to you (Luke 8:20, Bryan Watts Paraphrase)."
Now, before I tell you Jesus' response, I want to remind you of some context here. Jesus has been at home in Nazareth, with His family, until He was thirty. This is a guy who had helped around the family business, spent years in town, etc. Jesus wasn't the kid that turned 18 and bolted for the furthest college that He could go to; He was with His family until He was thirty. Then, upon turning thirty, He proceeded to start His ministry, traveling all about the countryside, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom.
He probably hasn't seen His family for some time. They probably miss Him. My guess is that they had made a special trip to wherever He was in order to see Him. His response?
"My mother and My brothers are those who hear and do the word of God." -Luke 8:21, HCSB
What the what, Jesus?! Doesn't this seem insensitive? Doesn't this seem uncaring? Is He rejecting His family?
What I believe we are seeing here is not a commentary on how much Jesus loved His Earthly family, because I believe He loved them very much. Instead, I believe we see how much more He loves His spiritual family, the Church, and by extension, how much we should love them.
Christ died on behalf of His people. He longs for us to be in relationship with Him. His desire is for us to be with Him in glory and reign alongside Him for eternity, He as the Groom and the Church as His bride. That's us. He loves us that much.
Yet, despite how much our Savior loves us, how often do we disregard our family of faith? Names like "brothers" and "mother" are familial terms! We're the body of Christ, His beloved Bride, and we spend so much time ignoring our relationship with one another! We wouldn't ignore and disregard our families like that, would we? We are to be a family, even more so than our Earthly families. We're a body, made of many important, indispensable members, and it is crucial that we stay together.
Our church needs us and we need our churches. Be there for them. Love
them. Appreciate them. Help them. Be active for them. Serve them. It is
your calling, Christian. Don't neglect her; if she is loved enough by
Christ that He died for her, then we should love her in a similar
fashion.
Today, reach out to a part of the local body you belong to. Say hello, check in on them, do something kind for them. If you are not a member of a local church, find one. get involved in Christ's church; it is absolutely a must for the Christian to be in the body of Christ.
Let's stop neglecting our brothers and sisters. Christ died to make the family of God what it is; don't reject His work on the cross to bring us together by ignoring His bride.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Rest in the Midst of Your Burdens
Man, I am swamped these days. I recently started attending seminary in Louisville, while working at my home church in Lexington, all while balancing family and friends and interests and such. Life is crazy. My days and nights consist of reading about church history and Old Testament scholarship, writing papers on Hittite treaties, organizing and guiding and leading and preaching in growing, active student ministry, leading a small group, discipling a couple of guys and being discipled myself.
It has been during this past week, about three weeks into the semester, when I have realized that I am burning out already. So, I took much of this past weekend off and have been scaling back some things.
Alas, here it is. Monday. And I am reaping the consequences of my weekend of minimal work. And that's OK.
It is good to appreciate little things and relax a bit. I spent Friday night watching the first live MMA fights that I have watched in quite some time. It was a blast. Then, on Saturday, I spent much of the day with my family and some friends, eating jambalaya and watching LSU football. I accomplished a bit yesterday afternoon, but ended up spending last night in front of a Quentin Tarantino movie. All of this is going through my mind as I sit at my desk on a cool, autumn-esque morn, reading the Psalms.
If you have followed my blog any length of time, you're probably aware that I spend quite a bit of time in the Psalms. David, who wrote much of the Psalms, is my boy, and we think rather similarly (that is to say, we're both rather dramatic). So, as I read Psalm 35:27-28, I resonate well with his sentiment there.
"Let those who want my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them continually say, 'the Lord be exalted, who wants His servant's well-being.' And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praise all day long." -Psalm 35:27-28, HCSB
Now, the context of this passage is David, praying for victory over those who were oppressing him. Knowing his life story, I feel safe to assume they probably wanted him dead. I do not think anyone wants me dead. However, I believe there is something to be said here for anyone feeling some strain in life.
David writes that the Lord "wants His servant's well-being." God truly does want the best for His people. Romans 8 is a beautiful chapter on that front. While it may seem that we are overwhelmed, God has given us much in those moments. He is working for our good and is here alongside us, strengthening us through the work and truth of the Gospel (Philippians 4:10-13). This is why David proclaims at the end that he will proclaim "[His] righteousness, [His] praise all day long."
Our God is a loving God, and He wants our well-being. He wants His people to pursue Him with all they have and find joy/praise in Him. As a continuation of that, He wants us to cut out what keeps us from doing so.
So don't be afraid to take a night off. Yes, we work hard. Yes, we pursue excellence. However, it is not God's desire for us to be miserable, either. He has given us good things (such as friends, family, Cajun food and SEC football) to enjoy in His name. Don't spend your life worrying and stressing over everything all the time. He's got this. Our job is to shout for joy, be glad, exalt Him, proclaim His righteousness and praise Him all the day long. None of that involves letting the minutiae kill you.
Yes, this is a bit of a rambling post, so let me sum it up as such: David spends verses 1-8 and 11-26 ranting and rambling about his struggles, much like I did to start this post. Yet, he stops in verses 9-10, as well as verses 27-28, to rest in Him and praise God's goodness. Let's follow that example.
I challenge you: rest in Him at some point today. It's Monday, after all. We're all ramping up for the work week and diving in. Therefore, you're likely stressing already about your workload and deadlines and outside difficulties and such. Take some time off, at some point today, and rest in Him. Take a walk. Smell a flower. See a movie. Eat lunch with your phone turned off. Do something you enjoy that allows you to rest in the good, loving things He gives you and let the struggles disappear for a bit. Read through Psalm 35 and make the resting verses, the praises of Him be your refrain today. May our bones say "Lord, who is like You, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?" today!
It has been during this past week, about three weeks into the semester, when I have realized that I am burning out already. So, I took much of this past weekend off and have been scaling back some things.
Alas, here it is. Monday. And I am reaping the consequences of my weekend of minimal work. And that's OK.
It is good to appreciate little things and relax a bit. I spent Friday night watching the first live MMA fights that I have watched in quite some time. It was a blast. Then, on Saturday, I spent much of the day with my family and some friends, eating jambalaya and watching LSU football. I accomplished a bit yesterday afternoon, but ended up spending last night in front of a Quentin Tarantino movie. All of this is going through my mind as I sit at my desk on a cool, autumn-esque morn, reading the Psalms.
If you have followed my blog any length of time, you're probably aware that I spend quite a bit of time in the Psalms. David, who wrote much of the Psalms, is my boy, and we think rather similarly (that is to say, we're both rather dramatic). So, as I read Psalm 35:27-28, I resonate well with his sentiment there.
"Let those who want my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them continually say, 'the Lord be exalted, who wants His servant's well-being.' And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praise all day long." -Psalm 35:27-28, HCSB
Now, the context of this passage is David, praying for victory over those who were oppressing him. Knowing his life story, I feel safe to assume they probably wanted him dead. I do not think anyone wants me dead. However, I believe there is something to be said here for anyone feeling some strain in life.
David writes that the Lord "wants His servant's well-being." God truly does want the best for His people. Romans 8 is a beautiful chapter on that front. While it may seem that we are overwhelmed, God has given us much in those moments. He is working for our good and is here alongside us, strengthening us through the work and truth of the Gospel (Philippians 4:10-13). This is why David proclaims at the end that he will proclaim "[His] righteousness, [His] praise all day long."
Our God is a loving God, and He wants our well-being. He wants His people to pursue Him with all they have and find joy/praise in Him. As a continuation of that, He wants us to cut out what keeps us from doing so.
So don't be afraid to take a night off. Yes, we work hard. Yes, we pursue excellence. However, it is not God's desire for us to be miserable, either. He has given us good things (such as friends, family, Cajun food and SEC football) to enjoy in His name. Don't spend your life worrying and stressing over everything all the time. He's got this. Our job is to shout for joy, be glad, exalt Him, proclaim His righteousness and praise Him all the day long. None of that involves letting the minutiae kill you.
Yes, this is a bit of a rambling post, so let me sum it up as such: David spends verses 1-8 and 11-26 ranting and rambling about his struggles, much like I did to start this post. Yet, he stops in verses 9-10, as well as verses 27-28, to rest in Him and praise God's goodness. Let's follow that example.
I challenge you: rest in Him at some point today. It's Monday, after all. We're all ramping up for the work week and diving in. Therefore, you're likely stressing already about your workload and deadlines and outside difficulties and such. Take some time off, at some point today, and rest in Him. Take a walk. Smell a flower. See a movie. Eat lunch with your phone turned off. Do something you enjoy that allows you to rest in the good, loving things He gives you and let the struggles disappear for a bit. Read through Psalm 35 and make the resting verses, the praises of Him be your refrain today. May our bones say "Lord, who is like You, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?" today!
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