Newsletter - February 2006

Dear Friends:

How are you doing in these deep winter days? Some of you are reading this from southern places where the sun shines year around and the temperatures never dip below 60 degrees. That is not the case in Michigan where I live. We get snow, we get cold, and we do not get much sun!

For most of us, the weather is an inconvenience and not much more. We have warm homes, lots of blankets, hot coffee, and cars with good heaters. Some of us even have fireplaces, snow blowers and other niceties to get us through anything winter can throw at us.

But for others winter blasts can mean disaster. In fact, yesterday, on an expressway near our home, blizzard white-out conditions caused a chain reaction accident involving 86 cars. Fortunately no one was killed and injuries were only minor. This morning, most of those drivers are filing insurance claims, driving their second cars, and getting by. But in the middle of that pile up was John, a friend of ours whose only earthly possession of any value was his truck. It got him back and forth to his maintenance job in a factory at which he was making barely enough to get by. And it got him to church on Sundays where he ministered with his musical talent.

For John, the 86-car accident meant disaster. His truck was hit from behind and spun around to hit the side of another car and then was hit again on the driver’s side detonating the air bag. He had liability insurance on the truck, but nothing that would cover its repair. It is not drivable, and it is destined for the junkyard. John had been unemployed for almost two years before he got his maintenance job a few months ago. As a result, he has no back-up resources. Today a friend took him to work and will pick him up. Life got a lot harder for John because of a Michigan snowstorm.

The story is not ending there, though. Because John is involved in a church and has freely given of his time and talent in ministering at that church, his spiritual brothers and sisters are gathering around to help him get back on the road. Already this morning, several hundred dollars have been collected (and more is coming in) and friends are on the hunt for a good used car or truck that would be suitable for John’s needs. He has experienced disaster, but by God’s grace and by the love of God’s people, joy will come out of the pain and God’s name will be glorified.

I see two lessons for us in this story.

The first is that, as members of God’s family, we need each other. We are designed for relationship. In fact, the triune God is a model of relationship. Adam was not complete without Eve because he could not model the image of God without relating to another human being. So, as Christians who bear the image of God, we need to enter into sincere, loving, bonded relationships with one another. There are several ways we can do that.

Time: While we need to care for all our fellow believers, we need to be willing to cultivate deeper relationships with at least a few of them. This means we have to invest time – time in lunches, coffees, telephone conversations, and caring support. Time is always in short supply for all of us, but relationships are of great importance to God (see Luke 10:27) and the investment of time is the only way to develop them at any level other than superficial.

Honesty: If we are going to connect at a sincere level with others, we must be willing to be vulnerable. We have to share our own needs, concerns, and hurts and we have to listen to theirs. We will reap great spiritual benefits if we are honestly accountable to one or two other Christians in terms of our spiritual life, our temptations, and our attitudes.

Acceptance: It is not our responsibility to control other people. It is our responsibility to accept them just as they are. When we stop trying to control, we stop criticizing and stop questioning motives or actions. Instead, we love them, forgive them, and release them to Jesus. That should be a great relief to us! And that kind of acceptance an important step in building loving relationships.

Prayer: A special bond occurs when we pray for other people. We begin to see them in a new light and we begin to want only God’s best for them. So we pray for each other and we pray with each other. Love will grow through prayer.

The second lesson is that we are to help each other in times of need. One of the joys of being part of the family of God is that we help each other. When we see a need within the family, we work together to meet it. When we are in need (and we all are at some time or another), others help us. This is as God has intended it to be and Paul so directs in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Earlier in that chapter Paul told the Galatians that each member of the family should bear the burdens they are able to bear alone, but the burdens that are too big to carry alone should be shouldered with us by brothers and sisters in the family of God.

For John, losing his truck is a burden too big to carry alone. So, immediately the family of God went to work to bear that burden with him. He soon will have wheels again and, along with that, a sense that there are people who care very much about him and are willing to come alongside in support when the need is great. Someday, he will do the same for someone else. That’s how it works in God’s family.

I hope you are having great family of God relationships and that they will continue to grow in number and in depth. We should enjoy our spiritual brothers and sisters – after all, we will live together with them forever!

Blessings!

Bev

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