Yesterday I wrote about home and family. This morning we are traveling and are “away from home.” As we prepare to worship with the family of God, I am thinking about how the reflections I wrote yesterday apply to God’s family and our spiritual home. Our spiritual home is usually defined most sharply by our relationships in a local congregation, but Christians have family in many places.
Reflections….
Spiritually, our family is larger than the part we experience regularly in the context of our daily lives.
Our spiritual family is a major part of our identity. Through our church family, we know who we are and are continually reminded of our significance, that others love us, and that others care for us and want to be with us.
In our spiritual family we learn the value of sharing and we become more like Jesus as we serve others. In the deep relationships of a spiritual family, we willingly serve, knowing that others have done and will do the same for us.
In our church family, we invest ourselves in others, seeing the beauty of the past and the hope of the future.
Church is a place where we give without asking how much it will cost or whether we will get anything back in return.
Church is a place of encouragement and strength, a place of laughter and life lived lovingly.
Church is a place where we share life fully, a place where we know that others will welcome us and accept us.