Last weekend our church had the first of two celebrations for our 90th Anniversary. It was an all choir reunion with a musical service on Saturday night. This celebration brought back some of the former members, a former pastor, and people from the community who love music. It was a wonderful evening and a great way to celebrate the years of ministry that have occured through this place.
As I was reflecting on all of the great music and praise of God, I was also thinking what the celebration might look like 90 years from now. With all anniversaries, it is great to gather with old friends and share stories of the past, but that cannot be all. There also has to be a looking forward to what God is doing here and now, and dreaming about what God will be doing through us in the future. The past gives us the foundation, the present gives us the work of the day, and the future gives us the goals a dreams of what God could make out of us.
The next day I went golfing with a friend, and we talked about this. His comment was that the church is always changing, and it needs to, because God is always doing something new through different people.
This is very reassuring to me, because it reminds me that God is not static, and neither is his Body (the Church). There is much to do in the world - there is love to share, forgivness to pass on, grace to bless with.
So may we all strive to do God's work and follow God's will. May we continue to be a blessing to others, and may we share the love of God with all we meet.
1 comment:
Pastor E said: "The past gives us the foundation, the present gives us the work of the day, and the future gives us the goals and dreams of what God could make out of us."
This is an excellent description of our path, where we have come from, where we are, and where we need to go.
I am reminded of the recent Bible study with Pastor J, when we studied Revelation and we got to the seventh church, Laodicea. In my opinion, it is this church, out of all the seven, that we, today, resemble.
John, through his revelation from Jesus, warns the members of this church that while they seemingly have 'all they need,' that they remain spiritually "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."
"You are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm, I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
My prayer today is that we heat up our prayer life, begin to realize how lukewarm we have become, how self-satisfaction leads to decadence and decay. Being "in tune" with God requires daily contact, and a ready, willing spirit. It doesn't come without some effort and sensibility.
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