Week 1, Day 4

Week 1, Day 4
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 & Philippians 1:3-11

There are many Sundays when I use some form of these words from 2 Corinthians in the Assurance of Pardon, and I often wonder if they hold meaning for folks. Do we really think of ourselves as new creations in that moment each week? What about each and every day?

I was particularly struck by 2 Corinthians 5:18 today: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. The ministry of reconciliation. The passage goes on to call us ambassadors for Christ. It always makes me sad to hear about studies where the top three things non-Christians say about Christians is that we're judgmental, anti-gay, and hypocritical. I'd say we're not doing the best job as ambassadors if that's the case. I continue to be a firm believer in making every effort to be a reconciler.

Today, as I was at Harpeth, helping with the hanging of the greens, that annual tradition of pulling out the wreaths and various decorations in order to spruce up the church for Advent. I was standing at the front of the church, looking out on the pews, and somebody on the stage right side asked me a question. As my eyes were pulled that way, I noticed that a beam of light was shining right on Mary Smith's old seat. The rest of the pew wasn't lit. None of the other seats in that area were lit. Just Mary Smith's spot. We had just been talking about reserving a couple of rows. For that brief moment, I felt Mary's presence there, watching over us as we decorated the sanctuary. I took a few moments to simply thank God for Mary's presence in my life. I miss that sweet woman. She ministered to me in so many beautiful ways. I hope to be more like Mary when I grow up.