March 4, 2014.

“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standingwithin your gates, O Jerusalem!”
(Psalm 122:1-2)

There was a time in my life, albeit I didn’t realize this at the time, when going to church was an obligation. For me it wasn’t an obligation so much as my parents made me do it or my church family made me do it, but it was an obligation because I felt like God made me do it. I hated being late, not because I was eager to see my spiritual family as I should have been, but because I did not want to make God mad. I now see where this logic is flawed.

Have you ever experienced what the psalmist is trying to express in the verse above? I was glad to go into the house of The Lord! When I got to college, my faith was challenged and transformed into something real, and what a great blessing that was. If you have never had your faith challenged, its hard for me to see that you have grown any. I don’t believe I would have. Regardless, my faith has truly blossomed over the past four years and I am forever in God’s debt for it. Now, that’s not to say I haven’t had my down times, and even at a few points all but shed my faith. But over all, the arc has resulted in a positive gain.

Can you honestly say “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of The Lord!'”? I can, and I hope you can too. Our spiritual family, headed by Christ, is everything and anything we need in this life. It is the purpose of this life. We were made for each other and we are not meant to be alone. I believe this whole heartedly. I believe sometimes our Western ideology of individualism overshadows the Eastern ideology of community, in which both Judaism and Christianity were heavily rooted in at the beginning. I implore you to consider our roots, and help bring the family back together. I think we need a revival towards unity. Throw away bias and bickering. Get back to the bible. Do what it says and bind nothing more. Live happily ever after as a true family. Naive? I’ll let you decided that.

Let us not forget that being in the presence of The Lord is both a terrifying and beautifully uplifting experience. We should long for his presence. He doesn’t need us, we need him. Yet he wants us. Isn’t that beautiful? The almighty God, creator of all you see and beyond, wants a relationship with us. Let us embrace the fellowship with our savior and our family that we so deeply underestimate.

Suggested Daily Reading: Psalm 121-124, Acts 4.

The Lord be our keeper.

-Walter