Taking Time
With a collection of busy schedules and kids to corral, coming together each week for our Grace Group (church small group) can be quite the feat. But last night we did it again. One family was sick, in my family one spouse was sick, otherwise four other couples assembled around kids playing on the floor to talk about the promise of a child born to save the world and what it meant for us to be living in the promise.
We started off by singing some Christmas hymns reminding each other of the grace of Christ in song then we talked traditions of surprise and eventually we opened the Word and saw Jesus.
As I sat there, asking a few questions to keep the conversation flowing around the distractions of our kids parading through the house, I reflected on how good and right this felt. A group of people once strangers now bound by the truth we cling to. There were some tears and long pauses as we recounted the difficulties of life and sighs of relief as we declared the gospel to each other and felt what it is like to be Christ's beloved. This is what we were meant for and it feels like home.
Over the course of the conversation, at least twice, when answering a question on what we could do as a community of believers to help each other live in the light of the promise of Christ, someone mentioned taking the time to care for and speak truth to each other. This is not something you can do overnight, it is an investment and takes sacrifice from all of us to experience it. And it hit me, we were not implementing some fast-track church growth strategy by coming together, we are building patient community. We are experiencing the value of living slow with each other.
Living slow can take on a number of forms but it generally means being present, a lot. Studying Scripture together, drinking good wine together, watching the big games (and the little ones). Living slow is taking time away from other things to be with one another; often the things we selfishly want. It is not the way of our context but it is the way of our biblical reality and it is good.
We have a long way to go. There are many moons to add to our lives together, but Jesus will be in the center of it all. There will be others added to our crew, but it will be Jesus they come for. All along the way we will continue to take the time, because we know it is right, we know it is good.
I encourage you to take some time where you are. To find gospel friends that can remind you, laugh with you, cry with you and see Jesus with you. Live it all slow. Savor it. You might find that it feels like home.
We started off by singing some Christmas hymns reminding each other of the grace of Christ in song then we talked traditions of surprise and eventually we opened the Word and saw Jesus.
As I sat there, asking a few questions to keep the conversation flowing around the distractions of our kids parading through the house, I reflected on how good and right this felt. A group of people once strangers now bound by the truth we cling to. There were some tears and long pauses as we recounted the difficulties of life and sighs of relief as we declared the gospel to each other and felt what it is like to be Christ's beloved. This is what we were meant for and it feels like home.
Over the course of the conversation, at least twice, when answering a question on what we could do as a community of believers to help each other live in the light of the promise of Christ, someone mentioned taking the time to care for and speak truth to each other. This is not something you can do overnight, it is an investment and takes sacrifice from all of us to experience it. And it hit me, we were not implementing some fast-track church growth strategy by coming together, we are building patient community. We are experiencing the value of living slow with each other.
Living slow can take on a number of forms but it generally means being present, a lot. Studying Scripture together, drinking good wine together, watching the big games (and the little ones). Living slow is taking time away from other things to be with one another; often the things we selfishly want. It is not the way of our context but it is the way of our biblical reality and it is good.
We have a long way to go. There are many moons to add to our lives together, but Jesus will be in the center of it all. There will be others added to our crew, but it will be Jesus they come for. All along the way we will continue to take the time, because we know it is right, we know it is good.
I encourage you to take some time where you are. To find gospel friends that can remind you, laugh with you, cry with you and see Jesus with you. Live it all slow. Savor it. You might find that it feels like home.
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