By Doug Creamer
We Are a Family
How do you think about the people you attend church with every Sunday? Are they friends? Acquaintances? Are they people you can lean on in a crisis? Are they people you see only once a week? Do you know them and do they know you? That is a lot of questions and things to consider about the people we see at church each week.
The Bible calls a church a number of things. It’s called a light on a hill. We should be a beacon of hope to the lost in our communities. We are known as the bride of Christ. That reveals the depth of His love for us and the fact that He can’t wait to bring us home. We are also called the body of Christ. While we are many members, we each have a role and responsibility within our churches to fulfill to make our body work.
When I think about my church, I like to think of us as a family. I don’t know about your family, but most families have members who have been through some tough times. Some have brought life’s troubles on by their own choices; others have experienced tragedies and are struggling to deal with life. No matter what happens in life, we are still family.
I was thinking about Jesus’ family, especially His family tree. There are quite a few interesting people in His family background. The most prominent is King David. The Bible calls David a man after God’s heart. But David did not have a stellar character. We all know that David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to hide it. We have all read the story of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth was not Jewish and yet she is in Jesus’ genealogy. Who could forget the story of Rahab the prostitute who helped to save the spies? Did you know that she is in Jesus’ genealogy?
The disciples were not perfect either. James and John were known as the “Sons of Thunder” because they wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritans because they didn’t welcome them into their town. Matthew was a tax collector. Most tax collectors notoriously overcharged people and pocketed the extra money. Thomas doubted the resurrection and Judas betrayed Jesus. These men were Jesus’ disciples.
We all fall short in many ways and need the love and mercy of God. If Jesus can make room for us in the family of God shouldn’t we all make room for others? I believe God wants to reach out to our neighbors and friends through us. He wants us to be lights in our communities to help show people the way to God.
God’s heart is for every person to find and build a relationship with Him. When we join God’s family we aren’t called to sit in the stands and watch others work. We are called to bring our talents, gifts, and abilities and use them in our church family. There are many spiritual gifts that God gives the church to help members grow and mature in their faith, and I believe we each have some that God wants us to use. We all play a vital part in our church families.
I did not get the gift of a musical voice. Nobody should have to suffer through listening to me sing, even though God loves to hear me. But I do have the gift to teach and I use it in my church to teach the children and the adult Sunday school class. If you read my columns you know that I have the gift of encouragement and we can all use some encouragement at times. I believe God has given you talents, gifts, and abilities. He wants you to be use them to help make your church family better and stronger.
I want to encourage you to find your place in the family of God. God has given you special abilities that your church needs. Some are visible, like mine when I teach Sunday school. Others are behind the scenes, like the people who mow the grass or do the accounting. It may not be visible to others but their role is vital to the success of that church family. The person singing in the choir is just as important as those who serve in the nursery. We all have roles to play and things we can do to help make our church a warm and welcoming place to those who are lost and looking for a savior. Find your place. Do your thing. You are an important part of your church family!
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
