It's summer and our church family has a healthy habit of taking vacation and traveling to refreshing places. I affirm this "Sabbathing" behavior and hope to emulate it more in my own life!
This past Sunday, about ten of our precious families were away, and we felt the diminished size of the worshipping community. The Lord was present and our time together was sweet, but I'll confess that when I stood up to teach, I noticed that the crowd was smaller than usual.
It bothered me that I noticed, because I recognized just a touch of disappointment in the part of me that naturally looks for indications of things moving forward well and being "successful!"
My mind tends to look toward the future wondering what God is doing and what it will look like. I've been called a "dreamer!"
I love our church's mission: "Connecting people to God and each other through Christ!" The natural outcome of being connected to God is being optimistic about the future.
The Lord spoke to Old Testament prophet Jeremiah and reminded him that he knows the plans he has for us, plans for a future and a hope, plans for our welfare and not destruction.
The church of Jesus Christ is always looking forward. Obeying Christ's call, we live our individual and corporate lives in the context and reality of three primal essences: faith, hope, and love.
Erwin McManus points out: "People are looking for something worth believing in, somewhere to belong, and something to become." He goes on to remind the church that when we live in the context of the "apostolic ethos"--produced through living in faith, love, and hope--the intrinsic longings of the human spirit will be called out and find their fulfillment.
Faith, love, and hope are wellsprings that supply the church with the soul of authentic spiritual life. Faith, hope, and love build a church that just can't be stopped! There's no challenge or struggle too great for these Godly realities to overcome.
Praise God that his gifts of faith, hope, and love continually move us toward optimism. As we live in these Godly realities, we'll find they are the fuel that ignites our lives and our church, just as they ignited Christ-followers in the first-century!
Let's do it! Let's live by faith, be known by love, and speak with the voice of hope.
For God's glory, and our blessing!
Sincerely,
Duff
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