January 27, 2015
Sometimes I am amazed, and sometimes I am saddened, by the contrast of thoughts and beliefs I read on Facebook pages. For instance, there was a post from someone recounting a story I heard long ago of an inactive person being visited by the pastor. As they sat in silence, the pastor took an ember from the fireplace that was burning brightly and moved it to the side. Without speaking they watched the ember lose its glow and cool down. Then he took the ember, and still without saying a word, moved it back into the fire. It began to glow red again and soon was burning brightly. As he stood to leave, the inactive person broke the silence and thanked him for his "sermon." Then he said something like, “I get it. I’ll be back in church Sunday.”
Over the years that story has reminded me of my own need to regularly be in community to worship with other Christians. It has even reminded me that when I am feeling doubtful or confused, as if God is a long way away, to consider who has moved (hint, it’s not God!).
Yet, those are not everyone’s thoughts, evidenced by one of the comments. It went something like: I was gone from church for a while and no one came to help bring me back. It made me sad to think this person may have cut themselves off from church community because of what has not been done for them.
Next in line was a post with a picture of a cross with the words, “Don’t allow what has been done to you to become bigger than what Jesus did for you.” Needless to say, the contrast between focusing on what wasn’t done versus what has been done touched me deeply and inspired me to pray for both.
Blessings.
Facebook is a running commentary on what's good, what's not and where it's necessary to fill in the blanks between the two. I read comments, articles and view photos and quotes that run the gamut; on any given day a quick scroll down the page makes me feel like I'm sitting in a mash-up class of Sociolgy and Abnormal Psychology! I'm grateful for the connection to friends from every stage of my life and I thank God for those connections and realtionships, both real and virtual. God is at work here and I feel like a filter sometimes, sorting out and attempting to hold on to what's valuable and true and letting the rest flow right on through!
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