Ever Searching

My youngest daughter is 15 months old. I love to watch her as she roams around our home. Her eyes are ever searching for some new object she has yet to explore. At her young age, she is more observant than I expect her to be. She finds every piece of fuzz on the living room carpet. She notices the smallest changes in her environment.

For instance, a new book sitting on my desk caught her eye yesterday. Before I could intervene, she pulled every item her little hands could reach down to the floor in hopes of grabbing the new book.

When she discovers new uncharted items, she is persistent in pursuing any course of action to get access to them. Since discovering my new book I have needed to remove her from my office area repeatedly. However, she keeps returning with unwavering determination to read my book. (Guess who had to move the book?)

Her constant searching and drive to discover makes me wonder if this quality is one Jesus had in mind when He told His followers that anyone not willing to receive God’s Kingdom like a little child would not enter it (Mark 10:15). Does God desire me to search after Him with the same drive and persistence?

I am attempting to approach the Kingdom like my daughter approaches life. Here are a few areas in which I have set new goals.

·         When faced with troubling circumstances, I will not dwell on the negatives. I will look for evidence of God at work because I know He is in control.

·         As I open my Bible to read, I will search for detail I have not noticed before. I will expect God to speak to me in new and fresh ways.

·         While completing my daily routines, I will take note of God’s provision and thank Him for His faithfulness.

·         When working with difficult people, I will search for ways to reflect God’s love and mercy.

 

When observing my daughter, it is obvious that her searching brings her great joy. She is thrilled at every new discovery. I know God and His Kingdom have depths I have yet to reach and I have renewed passion to search them out!

Falling Through the Pews

Have you ever wondered if you'd be missed at church if you were absent for an extended amount of time? Would someone on the pastoral staff come by to check on you? Would someone from your Sunday school class call? Would anyone take the time to contact you at all?

Most likely, you have established friendships in your local congregation and you would be missed. It might take some time, but sooner or later someone would follow up on their concerns for you. However, there are those sitting among us that might never receive that follow-up card or call.

While it is hard to believe, people fall through the cracks, or in our case, the pews each year. They slip out the back door unnoticed while fellow church members continue on as nothing has changed. Oh, their absences might be noticed on Sunday morning, but by Monday they have once again been forgotten. No one feels close enough to them to be the one to call to check on them. And there in lies the problem.

The body of Christ is like a family. Some are well-liked and well-connected. Others hang precariously on the sidelines watching like the quiet uncle that attends every family reunion. He's always there, but he never really visits with anyone. It is the church members who shy away from personal interactions and social gatherings that can easily be overlooked.

Consider Jesus' words in Matthew 25:44-45.

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

I have always related the 'least of these' with persons outside the walls of my church home, but what if the 'least' are those we overlook among us? Are there those among us who are needing? Or lonely and in spiritual prisons we knew nothing about? Are we unaware of their needs because they haven't announced them and we've failed to ask?

Take time this Sunday to look at everyone around you. Who seems to be hanging on the sidelines?  Are there people that seem to be friendless? Who slips in and out without much interaction? Does anyone sit alone week after week? What can you do to minister to those you identify?

Reach out and make a connection. It might not be easy. It will probably take continued efforts and self-sacrifice. Yet, isn't that what discipleship is all about? Didn't Jesus demonstrate this concept time and time again. Besides, it could keep someone from falling through the pews.