Sunday, April 15, 2007

Cherish your church family

I am currently sitting in a hospital room with my son. As you probably know, Bobby has Lymphoma. He will be discharged soon for which we are all very grateful. When will he return to the hospital? Right now we do not know (You can read much more about Bobby at his website).

Because of his unpredictable treatment schedule, we have been unable to really be part of a church since we returned to the USA. Even as I am writing on Sunday morning, you are most likely gathered with your church family. We are, obviously, instead waiting for discharge from the hospital.

Several churches have been praying for us since we departed for South Asia back in October. We are so grateful for that support. Since we have returned, those churches have been very supportive of us in many ways. We thank God for you!

However, due to first living on the other side of the world, and then returning to this schedule, we have not really been a part of a church family since last June. This has been very difficult. It is not a matter of being taken care of. It is a matter of fellowship.

One of the most important, and ofter overlooked, aspects of church is the fellowship. I'm not talking about eating banana pudding, either. I am referring to really getting to know other people within the church, edifying one another, sharing in each other's lives, and building one another up in Christ. This is what we miss so much.

If you are part of a church family, please cherish your family members. Please get to know one another in a meaningful way. Please spend time together, and bear one another's burdens. Please do not rely on church programs, but go out of your way to serve others within the body.

We look forward to the end of these treatments so that we might join with a church family to worship together and to build one another up. Where will this be? We do not know. We do know that we cannot wait for the opportunity, whether it be here in the USA or 1/2 way around the world.

Once again, please cherish one another.

No comments: