Good Monday morning! You may have noticed a no-show on the devotional yesterday. I went to church. Not as in watched my church programs on TV went to church, but as in physically went to the church building with many other believers in Christ. Learning is a process that does not stop in this lifetime, and I expect that learning will be a big part of our spending time with God in eternity. One thing that has come up in my life is the difference between the upright arm of the cross and the crossing arm that makes the cross. The symbolism of the two pieces of wood is used in regard to our Christian life. In the upward pointing arm, the Christian reaches to God in prayer and faith. God responds as He values all relationships with those who seek Him, and this creates the vertical pathway. The other arm is horizontal to show our reaching out to each other. Those of us who by our nature do not seek out as much human contact as others have an easier time with seeking the vertical pathway, but God gives us two pathways. Both are equally important. I base the equality on Jesus' own words:
Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matt 22:37-40)
The lesson is that all of us must reach out as well as up. This lesson speaks to me as someone who now works at home, Most of the week goes by with little or no human contact. With the Bible study groups off for the holidays, things got a bit too much toward the alone with God side of my worship. Not that getting alone with God is a bad thing, but isn't it fun to share time with God and another person in Christian fellowship? After a few weeks of this, I came to realize that I missed not seeing folks. Of course, a television church provides no human contact. A message from God can come through televised or recorded services, and many have, but something is missing from that kind of worship. Yes, I found the missing part yesterday. Simple things like shaking hands, saying "God bless you!" and even a cheerful greeting are how we reach out and support each other. A quiet talk with a brother in Christ, or tea with a group of Christians, Bible study groups, and many more ways are provided by God to reach out to each other.
Let us (me) not forget to reach out while looking to Christ. Have a great week in Christ!
Bucky
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