Three Young Men
Three young men were sitting in front of me in church a few
weeks ago. I could tell they were visiting for several reasons. First I know
most of the people who are regular in attendance at our services and second,
they were swinging and swaying to the praise and worship, highly engaged in
singing which is a little unusual for our "regulars."
When talking to them I discovered that they were visiting the area for a week of snowboarding, so I was impressed that at their young age they would choose to come to church service instead of going out on the hill on Sunday morning. Not only were they in attendance at church, but they inquired about the men's Thursday morning Bible study, informing me that they would be there too. I concluded that we need more young men like them in our church.
At first thought these young men seemed different than our
typical attendees, however as I questioned why, I realized that in our little
church there is no typical. We are a diverse group with people who have lots of
money to poor ski bums. We have people who have run major companies and people
who help out on the “hill” as lift operators. We have prim and proper society
women and people with tattoos, earrings in weird places and even pink and
purple hair. We have people who raise their hands to praise God while others
only raise their voices to Him. We have old and young. We have locals and
others from far away places.
In our little valley there are way too many people of all
ages and sexes that never enter a church, so I am thrilled to see all who God
brings through the doors. People move to this area for selfish, self-centered
reasons. They want to ski or board as much as they can to fulfill their dreams
or desires, not thinking about what would please God. Now don’t get me wrong
it’s not a requirement that you go to church every week in order to please Him,
but I do think God wants us to be in fellowship regularly with other believers
whether they look and act like us or are very different.
How much time do you spend each week with other Christians?
Do you get a once a week dose or much more than that? Do you only spend time
with others who are a lot like you or do you surround yourself with others who
are quite different? Jesus was a master at hanging out with the riff raffs, the
rag tags and the outcasts. If He did it, why do we think we are too good to do
the same?
Just as the young visitors felt the need to be with other Christians
for a heart connection, each of us should seek that same thing each and every day
and then wait and see how we will be changed and how God will be glorified.
Acts 2:46-47 Every day they continued to meet together in
the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad
and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. and
the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
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