My week has been spent with a lot of catching up on household stuff that was put on hold for the school year, the play, and all the other things that I can push aside. I have spent some time reading to relax and we worked on getting the garage cleaned out! Yay! It looks a whole lot better!
Today, after a week of news articles on the failures of many so called Christians, some of which were in leadership…which I will not name as I am sure you all have your own names you can put in their place, I found myself pondering. I guess, wondering if you will, if we have lost something in translation of our walk of Faith.
It is the day, today that many people celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, more people attend church today than ever. There are often holiday family meals together, most women wear bright, colorful dresses that they never wear otherwise, and it is a joyful occasion. How many times though, did we find ourselves caught up in the midst of our to-do list, the meal plans, the food that had to be cooked, the bible verses that had to memorized and we forgot that the person we might see everyday, may need some encouragement.
I am one of the biggest failures when it comes to this. I often find myself, more comfortable slipping in a service here and there, not keen on developing or seeking out relationships. I struggle with making small talk, or meaningful talk at times.
I started to think, maybe that woman that I see at the library often, maybe she just needs someone to squeeze her and tell her you were thinking of her. It could be that kid your son plays basketball with, might be struggling with his faith. Have you asked him to join you in learning more about your beliefs?
Do we get stuck in the same patterns and think that if we invite someone them to church, we have done our duty? We say hi, and pass on our way. Could it be that you might need to babysit for someone, even though you don’t know them that well? Bring them a meal? Offer to clean their house?
These are questions I am asking myself. Am I using my time wisely? I may not fail as publicly as some of the ministers in news, but I am sure we fail each other in other ways. What can we do this week to not fail those that are walking in the faith and those that are not? Are we really living our faith or just a semblance of it?