Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope that you had a great week and that you are looking forward to worshipping our Lord and Savior at church tomorrow. At CIC, we will be observing the Lord’s Supper together.
Several of us had a great time on Thursday. As a church, we showed our support for the teachers and staff at Comanche by providing them with drinks from Sonic. Michelle had come up with the great idea of printing each person’s name, drink order and classroom number on labels. Thankfully, Sonic placed the stickers on the cups as they made the 73 drinks for us to deliver. After Andy and I picked up the precious cargo, we texted the ladies that we were in route to the school. Once there, Bev, Crystal and Michelle met us with the carts at the front entrance. We were a well-oiled machine, functioning with military precision and the heights of efficiency. Some of the things I enjoy most in life. As we placed those refreshing beverages, all nestled 4 to a drink carrier, accompanied each with an individually wrapped straw for protection against disease and an affront to sea turtles everywhere, I thought, “we are rocking this thing.” Once the carts were loaded, with all the fanfare of the Chiefs Superbowl parade and the Royals World Series parade, we began the trek across the sidewalk. One crack in the concrete almost caused a couple of drinks to tumble. Fortunately, one of our team members, with lightening fast reflexes and a move reminiscent of the Matrix, saved the day and prevented a spill rivaling the Exxon Valdez. Once we, and more importantly, the drinks were safely inside, we went through the office to obtain our security clearance. After going through a process designed in cooperation with the TSA, FBI and the Israeli Mossad, we received our high-tech security badges. (Ok, so maybe we walked in, said “hi” to the secretary, and she printed our stickers that said “visitor.” Anyway, we entered into the hallowed halls of the school and set up shop on the first floor. We separated the cups with the room numbers in the 100’s from those that had the 200’s. Ha, it can’t get any better than this I thought. Then, we grabbed some of the drink carriers and raced off to deliver to the teachers eagerly awaiting their handcrafted drinks from Sonic. It is then that we realized a glitch in our super-efficient system. We quickly discovered, contrary to any semblance of order, the rooms were not numbered in sequential order. Much to our surprise, we were discovering a room numbered 135 might be next to room 178, and across from something like 160. Or something like 110 might be at one end with 115 at the other end of the hall. As we scurried back and forth with drinks in hand, running into each other like the Keystone Cops, we must have looked ridiculous. We also noticed that there wasn’t a map on the wall published in the areas where we were at. I think that maybe the installer of the signs had all of the room numbers in a box. He or she then went from room to room placing whatever sign he or she grabbed on the wall. Either that or the architect wanted to try out a new random number generator in order to label each room. Whatever the case, it made no sense to us. Nevertheless, because of efficiencies in other areas, we persevered and delivered all the drinks in a decent amount of time. As I thought about this, I wondered if perhaps the problem was us not being totally familiar with the layout of the building or not being able to see the big picture. If we were to see a map of the entire footprint of the building, would we then be able to discern why it was numbered in the manner in which it is?
There are a lot of things in life like that. If you only see some of the details or pieces that are right in front of you, you might not understand the total concept. It is like the old saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” In some ways, church can be like that. For the people that go all of the time, they are familiar with what is going to take place, where you are supposed to go, and how you are to act. We even sing with gusto about raising our Ebenezer, a bulwark never failing, and being cleansed by the blood. I am in no way saying we shouldn’t do that or this is some kind of push to become a seeker church. Rather, we should recognize that there will be people in our midst that are as confused by what we do as I was in looking for rooms at the school. At one point, there was a room that both Crystal and I had looked for up and down the hall. They only way we found it was a teacher recognized I was wandering around lost and asked if she could help. In the times in which we live, many people are confused about Christianity. Whether they are inside our building or not, we should be always ready to help others to understand what it is that we believe and the reasons for why we live the way we do.
15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6)
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
You are loved and appreciated,
Larry
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