Tuesday, February 13, 2007

We're Better Together

I've been blessed and I've been cursed.

Both of those occurred with my Toshiba laptop. :)
Life with my newer laptop began last week with high hopes for more speed and greater reliability. My old IBM, while still functional, was exhibiting its age (8 years) and so I began the search for its replacement. Checking the local Craig's-list, I saw one that looked like a bargain, so I snapped it up, and sold my old one with its accessories, almost covering the newer one's price. Great!
But as soon as the old one left for its new owner, this one began acting up. It would freeze, throw a blue screen of death at me, and generally make it a challenge to get what you needed to do done before it did it again. So I began searching the Internet and beginning my education on Toshiba laptops.
What I discovered is that this model has problems with its video drivers.
Uh, duh.
I could have solved my problem right then, by tossing the laptop to the curb. But its a useful tool, and we don't have money to throw away. So I'm engaged with a community of fellow Toshiba owners who share my blessing and know my curse. Some of them even work for Toshiba. There is hope.
I was thinking earlier about church. Yea, big shock - pastor thinking about church. But I love it. I love the people in it. I love the reason it exists - to welcome other people and introduce them to God. I love the One it exists to glorify. I've been immersed in the church culture off and on (early, mostly off - lately, mostly on) since I was a boy.
So when I read the Bible, I read it like I'm part of the family. Since I trust my Father (God), I know that what I read there might not make a whole lot of sense to me at the moment, but it does to Him. And since I sometimes need help understanding what a passage means, I turn to the family for that help.

Some of the stuff in the Old Testament can hit you like Microsoft's "blue screen of death". You can lose your work that way on a computer, but you can lose something more important - your walk with Jesus - when that happens with the Bible.
If I had to depend on myself alone, I'd be woefully short of what I need to make it all clear. I don't have all the answers, and I don't pretend I do. So I turn to my family for help.
But you know, like a lot of people in churches, I forget sometimes that not everyone grew up in the family, and not everyone is in the family now.
When the Bible was written, it came through quite a few men's hands. It was collected first into Torah scrolls, then New Testament parchments. For thousands of years before the Torah came to be written, it was shared orally, which meant people had to come together to hear the Words of God.

Then in the early Christian church, the gospels of the disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and the letters of others (Paul, Peter, James, etc.) were carried from church to church and read aloud. Even until the early 18th century, most people didn't have a Bible of their own.

When they learned, they learned together. Questions were asked. Questions were answered. Some other questions had to wait on God's Holy Spirit to make the answer known. But all this was done in community. With people who knew God, and people who wanted to know God, coming together in love.
I guess what I'm saying today is this - we need each other. To understand God's Word. To live our lives according to the challenging example of Jesus. We need each other to make our way with Him.
Think about it - This laptop has achieved almost three hours now of uninterrupted use, thanks to Thor from Sweden and Boris from LA. I'll never be a Toshiba engineer, and if I was to give up on the laptop just because of what I don't know, what a shame it would be. There are people out there who know what I need to know, and want to help.

Just like there are here at New Hope and in other churches. We want to help you know God and understand His Word.
Friends, don't give up on God, just because you don't yet understand His Word. You have questions - we all do. But when we come together with our questions, with our doubts, even with our fears - Jesus will meet us at the very point of our need. You want an example? Here it is.
24 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master."
But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it."
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you."
27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."
28 Thomas said, "My Master! My God!"
29 Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." John 20:24-29 (MSG)

Jesus met Thomas and answered every doubt. He could have appeared to Thomas when that disciple was alone, but Jesus chose to come when they were together. It's still the way He works most often, and the reason we gather as a church - to meet with Jesus.

We're better, when we're together with God.
Grace!
David Wilson
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