Late Saturday night, at the women's retreat a few weekends ago, some friends and I were sitting around a table stuffing our faces, I mean - politely nibbling on some outrageously delicious food, when a gal in our gang noticed one of our friends had left and not returned. Her bag was there, cell phone, food, everything, but she was not. No biggie, we kept eating, but the minutes passed and she didn't come back, so we kind of started looking around for her, stretching our necks this way and that, but didn't see her anywhere. Soon we started checking bathrooms, our room, any other room we thought she might be in. She's a super cute, petite, Filipino chick and I was beginning, just beginning, to think something had happened. We walked up and down, in and out of halls and doorways looking and asking about her, but she just wasn't anywhere. We were this close to lighting torches, linking arms, and calling the National Guard when lo and behold there was our friend, just 20 feet away from us, completely safe and sound.
We acted like a pack of angry mothers and told her she was grounded.
It must've made my friend feel somewhat important, must've felt kind of good to her, to know people were looking, that she couldn't just disappear without someone noticing.
This is a good reminder to me, as a Christian, of two things: Be someone that is looked for, and be someone that finds friends.
Let me explain...
What if my friend didn't think it was a big deal to regularly skip church, or what if she didn't see any harm in going to a different church every week, as long as she was going somewhere? What if she did go to the same church every week but came late and left early? What if she never got involved, never sign up or joined in? What if she never played her part?
The Bible says we all play a part.
1 Corinthians 12:14-21, 26-27. "For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
She would miss out on serving as Christ calls us to serve and ministries would miss out on her gifts if she wasn't playing her part of the body. If she wasn't involved in some capacity at church we wouldn't have even known to look for her because we wouldn't have known her at all. I want to be someone who is involved in church so that I can use my gifts - the gifts God has given me (Romans 12:6) - to glorify him and to play my part. There are blessings in obedience - one being we become someone who is looked for if missing. I want to be active in my church so if something happens to me, people notice, not because I'm something important but because I play a part in the body of Christ and that part is important. And the beautiful thing is, every part is important! God was SO GOOD to orchestrate the church to need every member in order to function properly. In fact, I think it's safe to say, if you're going to one church regularly and you're not actively involved I guarantee there is a ministry that is needing you.
... Didn't you say something about being someone who finds friends? Do mean like on facebook or something? ...
Hebrew 10:24 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
I want to be someone who is working at stirring up my friends to love and good deeds, and not someone who is so caught up in whats right in front of my face that I don't notice when a fellow body member isn't showing up. I don't want to miss the fact that someone is missing. I want to be an encourager in the body to the body, which means I need to get to know other members of the body. Who are they? What are their gifts? Where do they serve?
Looking for my friend that night also reminded me there were probably a slew of gals at the retreat that signed up on a whim, not knowing a soul, HOPING to make a friend and somehow not get lost in the crowd. I want to work on looking for people who need finding. I get that not everyone is a joiner. Crowds are scary. Christian crowds can be daunting. So what if there is that person who IS coming every week, and IS coming early and staying late, but just needs that someone to find them and join them, and help them see the important part they play in the body? It's not easy for everyone to just show up and jump in, but I can look for those people and make the jump with them. Maybe that's my part of the body? Joiner and Jumper. :)
What a gift we've been given in the body of Christ! And thank you, dear lost and found friend, who brought this image to life for me. :)
We acted like a pack of angry mothers and told her she was grounded.
It must've made my friend feel somewhat important, must've felt kind of good to her, to know people were looking, that she couldn't just disappear without someone noticing.
This is a good reminder to me, as a Christian, of two things: Be someone that is looked for, and be someone that finds friends.
Let me explain...
What if my friend didn't think it was a big deal to regularly skip church, or what if she didn't see any harm in going to a different church every week, as long as she was going somewhere? What if she did go to the same church every week but came late and left early? What if she never got involved, never sign up or joined in? What if she never played her part?
The Bible says we all play a part.
1 Corinthians 12:14-21, 26-27. "For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ... If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
She would miss out on serving as Christ calls us to serve and ministries would miss out on her gifts if she wasn't playing her part of the body. If she wasn't involved in some capacity at church we wouldn't have even known to look for her because we wouldn't have known her at all. I want to be someone who is involved in church so that I can use my gifts - the gifts God has given me (Romans 12:6) - to glorify him and to play my part. There are blessings in obedience - one being we become someone who is looked for if missing. I want to be active in my church so if something happens to me, people notice, not because I'm something important but because I play a part in the body of Christ and that part is important. And the beautiful thing is, every part is important! God was SO GOOD to orchestrate the church to need every member in order to function properly. In fact, I think it's safe to say, if you're going to one church regularly and you're not actively involved I guarantee there is a ministry that is needing you.
... Didn't you say something about being someone who finds friends? Do mean like on facebook or something? ...
Hebrew 10:24 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
I want to be someone who is working at stirring up my friends to love and good deeds, and not someone who is so caught up in whats right in front of my face that I don't notice when a fellow body member isn't showing up. I don't want to miss the fact that someone is missing. I want to be an encourager in the body to the body, which means I need to get to know other members of the body. Who are they? What are their gifts? Where do they serve?
Looking for my friend that night also reminded me there were probably a slew of gals at the retreat that signed up on a whim, not knowing a soul, HOPING to make a friend and somehow not get lost in the crowd. I want to work on looking for people who need finding. I get that not everyone is a joiner. Crowds are scary. Christian crowds can be daunting. So what if there is that person who IS coming every week, and IS coming early and staying late, but just needs that someone to find them and join them, and help them see the important part they play in the body? It's not easy for everyone to just show up and jump in, but I can look for those people and make the jump with them. Maybe that's my part of the body? Joiner and Jumper. :)
What a gift we've been given in the body of Christ! And thank you, dear lost and found friend, who brought this image to life for me. :)
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