Pass the tissues

There should have been a box of tissues in every pew yesterday.   I'm not a very emotional or sentimental person. As a church, I would say that we're not very emotional either,  after all we're reformed.  But as Jonathan Edwards would say, we were moved in our religious affections for the Lord and for one another.

For starters, we celebrated the Lord's supper.  It's always hard for me not to cry during this time.  I was especially struck with what a privilege it is to partake of this remembrance.  I am not an outsider who has no part in Christ's death but one who has been brought near at a great cost.  This is no formal ritual but a very real reminder of our Savior's death.

Afterwards the pastor and his wife sang a song about Christ's love for His church.  Their voices blend beautifully together, and it's always a pleasure to hear them sing.  But as lovely as the music was, I got choked up at the words depicting Christ's determination to pursue His Bride even when she has turned to other lovers.  Perhaps its because of the years when I was out of fellowship and didn't think I needed the local church that these were words especially meaningful.

At the end of the service, we  prayed and bade farewell to one of our families.  They are moving to the other side of the country due to military obligations, and it was sad to say good-bye.  We then prayed for our pastor and his wife who will be leaving shortly for Uganda on a brief missions trip.  He will be working with Training Leaders International, a group that provides theological training to pastors.  Although there is hunger for the gospel, many believers in Africa only know about Joel Osteen and Benny Hinn.  His wife will be working in mercy ministry for women and possibly orphans.

As the church gathered around them and the deacons committed them to God's keeping, there were very few dry eyes in the house.  Although some  have been with the church from the very beginning, quite a number of us are relatively new.  Our pastor will have only been with us 2 years tomorrow.  But when everyone was surrounding him and his wife in prayer, it was a visible testimony of how God has knit us together.   The love and care among these brothers and sisters has been beautiful to behold. We're far from perfect and still in need of a great deal of sanctification. We're still learning how to do community  and serve the people outside our walls, but I thank God for this little church. May we continue to grow in our love for Him and our love for each other.