If Facebook, Time Magazine, and Macleans are right then we are living in troubled times, times that appear to lack mercy, compassion, and love. This is distressing for many folks, and (perhaps) especially for Christians.
The gospel writer John teaches us that Jesus told his followers, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” It is something Christians need to, in humility, learn how to do.
We cannot control what people outside our communities think of us but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek to live in harmony and love, in radical giftedness with postures of gratitude and acceptance.
The saints who gather here in Duncan take this to heart. We learn. We strive. We trust one day we will “get there.”We do things for each other. We drive friends to visit their sick spouses, we go to hospitals, we hold hands, we bring food. I can’t tell you how many times I have come home to find fish, or meat, or strawberries, of fresh vegetables with dirt still on them, at my door.
A community can bless one another. Several men have dropped loads of heating wood off at my house, women have stopped by just to chat and have tea with my wife, no agenda but friendship offered.
Recently I asked a friend at the church if he could put his digital arts degree to use by making me a sort of digital image I could print to put on my church office walls in order to personalize them and because the words of Tim Keller are inspirational and helpful to be reminded of regularly. I gave him this:
And hoped that he would use his digital media degree to turn my chicken scratch into something more, shall we say, beautiful.
Time passed and some text messages were shared.
I gave him virtually no guidance at all.
This is what he came up with (the photo doesn’t do it justice, if you live nearby you should really stop in, have a cup of coffee and see the piece):
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