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Jeff Lampl

Friday, October 23, 2015

One of my favorite recent stories is of a member of our church family who happened to be sitting near a couple who were relatively new to CLC.    He befriended the newer couple and as time went on the husband became sick and eventually did pass away.   However during his illness he would visit he couple.   He and another member of the worship team even went to their home to pray and they sang worship music for them.  

This is a story of love within the Body of Christ fulfilling Jesus words . . .  

 "And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."   John 13:34  

But there is so much more to it isn’t there?  The man I cited above had to actually notice the new couple and talk to them.  He then needed to notice them again and again engage in conversation with them, caring about their lives.   And once the illness was discovered the relationship continued to grow.    

Caring often requires time, communication outside of Sunday mornings, phone calls, visits, inconvenience, finding creative ways to help, time in prayer, and attention diverted from “my time with my friends” after the worship service.   Noticing and caring are often messy, inconvenient, and frequently involve entering territory for which you feel unprepared and inadequate.   

I love our greeters and they are more than loving.  But “Connection Command Central” (cartoon above) won’t do it.   It is you and I who are the Body of Christ. 

Perhaps you can begin the practice of entering worship on Sunday mornings with the two thing that matter:   an open heart toward God and “people eyes”, eyes wide open for the person beyond your circle of friends who needs to be noticed.

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