Consider the scenario:
“Where did you put it?”
“I don’t remember where I put it, I think I left it on the table.”
“It’s not there now though, is it?”
“No it’s not there, can you help me look for it?”
“Sure.”
…
“Well have you found it?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Where did you look?”
“I looked in the room.”
“Did you look everywhere?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Don’t make me look in there and find it, you know.”
“I did, I looked”
…
“Oh look here it is.”
“Where did you find it?”
“In the same room you said you couldn’t find it.”
“But I looked.”
“Yes, I’m sure you did look.”
“I did, honest, where did you find it?”
“Under the settee, behind those wrappers.”
“I didn’t look that hard.”
——————————–
I’m sure you’ve never had that experience before because everythign you happen to miss on one occasion you’ll usually find straightaway. For me, however, I must concede that there may have been one or two occasions where episodes like were closes associated to me. Episodes in my youth … as well as maybe a few after that time … and maybe one or two in the not too distant past.
It’s just to say, though, that I am at my best, when I really want to find what I’m looking for. If it’s a casual search and if it’s not feeling as passionate as the other person who wants to find the something then I won’t go out of my way. Being honest, I’ve really got to see the value of finding it to go on the search.
This is where I really see the value of what we experience in community together. There’s something about the gathering of saints – the stories, the laughs the gifts, the experiences, the food, the tears, the healing, the restoration, the forgiveness, the correction, the instruction, the wisdom – that makes it so much more than a ritual to listen to someone talk at me for 25 to 45 minutes. There’s something about the life of Christ expressed in that gathering – every member playing its part, every believer recognising they can serve others, every saint encouraging the other to love as Christ loved.
When the invitation is given to seek – that’s where I see teh great value in the company of saints. Seek the life of Christ. Seek Him and find Him in the conversations, in the songs, in the teaching and preaching, in the sharing. Celebrate Him as He is shown in engagements with folks as they give information of what life in Christ is like.
Where things appear about dull and drab, the mere reminder of His presence and how He welcomes those who seek Him, can turn that mundane into something memorable. You know that His presence and character is there somewhere, so seeking Him in the interactions is worthwhile.
It’s unlikely that I’ll return from those kind of encounters shrugging that I don’t know where He is. Not for a prize of such great value.
That prize is there somewhere.
(Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 