Your Presence Matters

Photo source: Unsplash, taken by Natalya Ukolova

There has never been a time that I have loved the local church more than I do now.

I can't explain it, and I don't fully understand it. 

I didn't even notice the shift occuring inside of me--I only noticed that a shift had occurred, and it literally took my breath away and is forever imprinted upon my heart.

I'll never forget, I was seated in church (left side, midway down, third seat in from the aisle), and I had just drank the tiny cup of port wine and swallowed the dry cracker of the communion meal while in my seat.  The soft worship music continued to play and my gaze slid over to the people filing down the center aisle, so they, too, could get the elements fom our pastors and make their way back to their seats.

As I watched the line of women, men, and adolescents slowly make their way past my seat, I wasn't impressed by their button-up shirts, dresses, or matching shoes (a habit of mine years ago as a church-going teen), but I was suddenly struck by how much I LOVED these people, and I literally gasped.

As each person filed by, I truly noticed them.  Perhaps I personally knew them, having served with them in some way at the church or on a mission trip.  Perhaps I had met their parents, been in their home around the dinner table, or I could correctly pair them with their infant child in the church nursery. 

But even if I didn't know them, or had never met them before, my heart seemed to lunge toward them. Old, young, known, unknown, it didn't matter. I was sincerely thankful and grateful they were there. Inexplicably, their mere presence in the sanctuary that morning truly and deeply mattered to me.

I talk to people in my church (at weekly Life Group or sharing coffee out in town) who say something to the effect that they feel needy, not useful, broken, benched in some way.  I try my best to express to them that just their being at church or at small group--just their being in the boat, so to speak--deeply ministers to me.  They may not be pulling at an oar (yet), but their very presence proclaims the fact that they have made the choice to not go at it alone, but to partner with Jesus, with me and others, to be united to the family of God...and that profoundly impacts us all. 

I didn't talk much about my communion experience at that time, and probably 4 or more years have passed since that day, but it continues to inform my spiritual journey in a profound way. It has been interesting for me to read or hear the words of others--current church leaders and even pastors a few decades into their retirement from the pulpit ministry--sharing about how their hearts and souls are consistently refreshed by being surrounded by the saints on a Sunday morning, hearing them sing the hymns of the faith, eating together, and just being together as the body of Christ.

If you struggle to love the local church and have never experienced this facet of being united in Christ with other believers, you are not alone, dear friend!  Many (perhaps most?) of us have had seasons where we have struggled to be truly present in church each week, to dig in, get to know people, to serve and to just love and be loved.  I'd like to point you to some resources that have helped me in those seasons, and these are still books that encourage me as I reflect upon the wonder of my relatively newfound love--Christ's love--for his church, the bride.  I also recently heard a podcast about how your church--my church--needs you to show up...in the best way.  

TGC Podcast The Deep Dish: Your Church Needs You to Show Up -- Courtney Doctor, Melissa Kruger, Vanessa K. Hawkins

Sam Allberry: Why Bother With Church?

Paul David Tripp: Sunday Matters: 52 Devotionals to Prepare Your Heart for Church

Deitrich Bonhoeffer: Life Together

May you be encouraged, challenged, and strengthened this week in your journey, wherever you land in your feelings of love for your local church.  God will and can use you--even if you just sit in a pew for a bit. 

Let None of Your Words Fall

I was reading the book of First Samuel this crisp, fall morning and a beautiful sentiment lept off the pages to me.  It was in the story of Samuel as a young boy receiving God's call, a passage I have always loved and prayed over as it pertains to my children.

    Help my children hear your call, Lord! May their response be “Speak, for your servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10)

But it was further into chapter three that the Lord showed me a beautiful prayer today:

"The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground." 1 Samuel 3:19

I pray that today, dear friend.  Let us savor God's word for ourselves, and speak truthful, choice words that will not just fall to the ground, but serve to encourage one another.  May our words be winsome and helpful, instructing and guiding, and lead to LIFE.  

Reforesting Faith

I have been fascinated by trees and what they have to teach me about faith for years.

I've been praying that my children grow to become "mighty Oaks of Righteousness" since they were little.

So imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered that there is an entire book written about the theology of trees (and by a medical doctor, like myself, I might add!)

I devoured this gem in a single day and just had to tell you about it, too, dear friend.  It is entitled Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love For Us authored by Matthew Sleeth, MD.

If you are a nature-lover like me, I am sure this book will serve to refresh and encourage you as you follow the path of trees God laid out through the Scriptures.

I never realized that the opening and closing chapters of the Bible, the first Psalm, and the first page of the New Testament include trees. 

Nor did I ever know that most major biblical characters and events are marked by trees.

Both Jehovah God and Jesus Christ frequently called and commissioned their followers from under, or within, a tree (or bush).

A tree was the only thing that Jesus ever harmed (interestingly, a fig tree--the same kind of tree that bore the leaves Adam and Eve used to hide their nakedness from God; see Matthew 21:18-22).

And conversely, a tree--in the form of a cross--was the only thing that could harm Jesus. 

Trees teach us to take the long view of life.  They are the oldest living organisms on the earth and the largest living organism (that prize goes to a stand of aspen trees sharing the same root system in the state of Utah).  They are the only thing on the planet that gains a ring every time they do a lap around the sun. It is as though God is literally marking time with trees.

Trees make us feel small, and they remind us that compared to them, our lifespan is very brief.

General Sherman, Giant Sequoia

Trees are also symbols of hope and resurrection.  Noah's ark was built from trees, the dove returned with a branch from a tree, God's Tabernacle was made from trees (covered in gold), and we will live forever with Him at the Tree of Life in the new heavens and the new earth.

Huge biblical concepts like wisdom are compared metaphorically to trees.

"She [wisdom] is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;

    those who hold her fast are called blessed."  Proverbs 3:18

They are one of the few things that continue to give, even in their death, as they supply us with building materials for our homes and furniture.  Does this remind you of anyone?

Trees have much to teach us about who God is and how He loves and calls us.

This brief book summary is just scratching the surface of the goodies found within the pages of Dr. Sleeth's book!

If you'd love to know more, I hope you will treat yourself to this little treasure this summer.

It makes for a wonderful summer-time, lake-side read!