We had the Director of the Pentecostal District Assemlies (I don't know if that is the proper title, but it sounds good) speak to us this morning in church. He gave a very good message on what church ought to be. Of course, it ought to be of God. He needs to be the One at the forefront of all that is said and done in His Church. But church should also be about relationships. It should be about rejoicing with those who have need to rejoice, crying with those who have reason to cry, encourage those who need encourging words.
It is so easy to get caught up in our own world that we tune out the pain as well as the successes that others in the church are experiencing. I remember, quite vividly, about 20 years ago at my home church in Ontario, a man, who was very well-liked and respected asked a lady how she was. The lady responded, "Not very well." The man haphazardly replied, "Oh, that's great." And he went on his merry way. If this had happened today, being twenty years older, I would have gone to that woman and hugged and prayed with her. But I was in my twenties and didn't know how to handle these kind of situations. But I hurt so much for her. That gentleman was clearly in his own world and wasn't accustomed to listening. There was no relationship there at all.
Having a relationship takes courage, compassion and time. Courage because we risk the possibility of being rejected. If we go on a limb and offer ourselves to another person, we stand the chance of our friendship being rebuffed. Compassion is needed especially when the person we are reaching out to is hurting. We need to push all of our problems and happenings out of the way to give this person our full attention. All of this takes time. Time seems to be a rare commodity these days. We are always running around doing this and going there, that we have lost the art of having a relationship.
This is what the church needs. I think many people who go to church just silently creep into their pew 3 minutes before the service and then rush out as soon as the last word is sung in the closing hymn. I have to admit, I would be one of those creep in and rush out church members, if it wasn't for my husband. He is a socializer. He is the last one to leave church every Sunday. I have been forced to talk and mingle with others. My husband has shown me how important it is to have a relationship with others in the church.
This brings me to what happened this morning. As we were singing and worshiping the Lord, there was an invitation given to those of us who needed to surrender something to the Lord. If we had something that we needed to give God in prayer, then we were urged to to the altar at the front and pray. If we wanted to pray by ourselves we could, or someone else would pray with us.
There has been something going on in my life for awhile now. Something that has caused me great pain and anguish. I have tried dealing with this 'something' by trying to fix it, by trying to control it, by trying to manipulate it. You name it and I have tried it. God has been speaking very loudly to me in the past month that the only thing I haven't done is surrender it. I have been thinking that this may be the time to do that. So I went up to the front, kneeled down at the altar of God and told Him that I was ready to surrender my 'something.' I knew the only one who could take care of this was God and I was going to give Him the room to work.
With tears streaming down my face and a heart lighter than it has been for a very long time, I returned to my seat and hugged all three of my babies. We stood up and sang to our God. My pastor, who knows about my 'something' quietly moved to my pew, put his arms around me and prayed the most beautiful prayer for me and my children. He prayed in my ear so that the only ones who heard was God and myself. His words calmed my soul and was the perfect ending to a beautiful worship service.
That is an example of relationship. Knowing when to move and comfort. Taking the time to let the other person know that you are thinking and praying for them. It is all in the relationship.