As part of serving on my church council, I periodically have to give a devotion prior to starting one of our monthly meetings. My turn came up this week and I did what any resourceful Christian would do; I asked my sister, who is a Lutheran Pastor, for some help.
I’m currently in the middle of a bible study on Thessalonians so I had a good place to start. I also follow a remarkable Anglican priest on Twitter who posts little gems and nuggets of awesomeness almost daily. Add some spice from my sister and I came up with the following:
First Thessalonians is believed to be one of the Apostle Paul’s earliest letters. It was co-written by Silas and Timothy while they were in Corinth during his first missionary journey.
1 Thessalonians 2:5-8 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
Daniel Brereton is an Anglican priest from Ontario and recently posted this on Twitter: When people say they are too hurt or angry to believe in God or that they simply don’t believe, I just accept that. I don’t try and “slip God in another way” with theological argument or spiritual platitude as if God was some kind of drug I’m determined to slip into their drink. What I DO offer them is the one thing that they are open to at that moment – myself. I try to listen in order to understand, not simply to reply. I apologize where I think it’s needed and wanted. I show concern for their present state, not for their future in church or in heaven. They may no longer believe in a loving God – but I do – so I offer what I believe God has sent to them: me; my time; my empathy; a human presence to say “I see you. I hear you. I care about you. I’m here with you.” I believe it’s what Jesus meant when he said “follow me”.
Jesus was all about relationships. In every encounter he had with people, he offered himself, and in so doing, he gave them God’s love.
A piece of Christ resides in all of us for those times when church may be too big for a fragile moment. We were created in His image so that when those moments arise, we can be examples and imitators of the one who made us. It’s an incredibly vulnerable thing to do, but when people come to us, broken or otherwise, we can show them God’s love simply by being our true self. We don’t need a scripture passage, a committee, or an elegant facility to be what God calls us to be in the moment.
As followers of Christ’s example, sharing ourselves, our stories, our experiences of God at work in our lives is the most important thing we can give to one another. I believe that is how we follow Jesus.
End Transmission.