Series: New New
Psalm 59:16 ESV
Last night I had a dream.
I dreamed a dream of a gathering of people who loved being together.
They laughed and danced and sang lovely songs in the morning and in the evening. When I woke up I thought in a perfect world they would take a nap in the afternoon and they would spend hours and hours sitting with God and talking.
Psalm 59:16 tells us, “I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”
As I read today’s scripture and thought about the dream I had last night I remembered our first church where we served.
When we went for the interview there were five people who met us. One man and four women sat with us and talked. They didn’t really have many questions about our theology or even how we practiced our faith.
Instead they had questions about our children and how they liked to spend their days. They wanted to know about our favorite things to do and they asked about our extended families. Both of our dad’s were deacons in church. His mother was church organist and my mother was active in women’s groups in church. We both grew up in church.
They asked about our pets. At the time we had a dog and a cat. I told them after we got the cat we discovered my oldest son and I were both allergic to cats so the cat stayed outside or in the winter when it was really cold he lived in the garage.
After we talked and laughed for a while they looked at each other and one of them asked us when we could come.
There were no theological questions during the interview.
They didn’t ask about our beliefs.
No one wanted to know how we practiced our faith.
For years I thought it was the most puzzling interview we had. Later when we went for other interviews in other towns everyone asked the questions we expected them to ask that day.
I suppose because I was young I didn’t see the wisdom beyond wisdom those five people imparted that day.
They learned more about us that day than any of the other formal interviews we had years later.
Our years we spend with that older congregation helped US to grow in the faith.
Even though they did not have an organ and their old piano had not been tuned in some time they knew how to sing of God’s strength.
While we were there one of the older couples faced unbelievably difficult decisions because of health issues. I marveled at the way the entire congregation banded together to care for them.
They relied on God’s strength.
When they sang of God’s steadfast love it was real and genuine.
The woman who taught Sunday School to the children was functionally illiterate but her love for God was ferocious. She taught my children about Jesus’ love. The older children would read the scripture and all of the children shared what it meant to them.
I remember whenever there was a problem everyone in the small congregation LET God BE their fortress. I don’t remember anyone arguing or complaining about anything. When there was a problem they prayed about what God wanted them to do. They relied on God’s strength.
I learned more from them than I ever dreamed imaginable. Even though I was college educated, I saw their faith in action. When they faced difficult times I knew God was our refuge when we were in distress.
Ultimately, I learned more from them about faith than I thought was possible.
From them I did not learn to deal with gossip or loss of Faith, or competition for key positions in the congregation.
I learned about those things from other congregations where we served.
I learned how a church can work together.
I saw faith in action.
I learned how to love.
I learned how to BE the church.
Spiritual Practice: Love
How do you work with other believers? Who do you think of when you consider faith in action? What does it mean to BE the church or other believers?
In God, Deborah