Our weekend was good, even special. On Friday we usually
meet with another couple to pray for our families, but they called to say a
mutual friend just had surgery. Would we rather go see him? We were very close
with him and his wife but with all our moving, haven’t seen them for at least
twenty years. That was a blessed visit.
Saturday our church hosted a silent auction to raise funds
for persecuted refugees. The event was a total success, but the part I enjoyed
most was conversation with Christian friends. We have attended this church for
only six years but feel as if we have known the people forever. They remind us
continually of the grace of God.
Yesterday we visited an octogenarian who broke her hip.
She was cheerful and even more so when one of her peers came also. Again, this
was ‘family’ and we were blessed by their good humor and shining faces. After
that, we revisited the fellow who’d had surgery and one of his sons was there
with his family. Except for a few gray hairs, it was as if nothing changed — we
again felt as if we have known them forever.
Tozer writes in today’s devotional: “This is the Bible pattern. God the Father is there. Christ the Son is
present. The Holy Spirit indwells each member . . . The spirit within us can experience and taste
the glories of God in a blessed fellowship.”
This explains why fellowship puts in our hearts a deep sense
of being forever friends. It is about the kinship of the godhead, the amazing
fellowship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we are experiencing and
enjoying. In this relationship there is no rift — unless our fleshy and sinful
selves put it there. What a joy to be with our Christian family.
Maybe this is part of the reason Paul wrote these words to
the church at Galatia:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9–10)
The Christians at Galatia were in trouble because they had
abandoned their focus on the Gospel and were sliding into a “I have to earn my
salvation” mentality. Instead of encouraging reliance on grace and loving one
another, they were listening to false teachers who told them they ‘must do this
or that’ to be saved. That thinking took them out of fellowship with God and
with each other.
We are pilgrims here together. Our Lord God is with us in
our journey and we are with each other. My relationship with God is precious,
yet so is my relationship with others who believe in Him. It is through them
that I see the grace of God described by the Word of God. Their loving care,
laughter, and that sense of being forever friends are God-things and tremendously
vital to my spiritual health.
^^^^^^^^^^
Lord Jesus, I’m so thankful today to be in Your Body of
believers in this place. Each smile, each Word of encouragement, each burst of
laughter, each hug and each prayer draw us together and point us to You. I’m so
grateful for the church and that You unite us as You have done. We sometimes
have our differences, but they melt away when our hearts are focused on You and
Your great love for us.