Blog
“Being a Light in a Dark Place”
Categories: M. W. Bassford
During Charlie’s address to the congregation last week, he revealed that our theme for the year is going to be “Be the Light”. It’s only natural that throughout a year as difficult as 2020 was, our thoughts would tend to turn inward. However, the elders want us to remember that we aren’t supposed to be lamps inside a bushel basket, keeping all that light for ourselves. Instead, we’re supposed to shine before others, so that they can see our good works and glorify God.
However, right now, that poses a problem for us. Like a houseguest who has overstayed his welcome, coronavirus has kept right on from 2020 into 2021. In fact, we’ve been forced to a truncated schedule of services because of the risk of infection. Add to that all the political turmoil and unrest, and our 2020 theme might seem as remote as the dark side of the moon!
What I’d like to talk about this morning, then, is three simple things that all of us can do, right now, this week, to shine. Let’s consider what it means to be a light in a dark place.
The first thing we all can do is ENCOURAGE AN ABSENT MEMBER. Here, let’s look at Hebrews 10:24-25. Across the brotherhood and even within the congregation, there’s been a lot of angst about this passage. If we cancel services, or if we isolate ourselves at home because we’re medically vulnerable, are we forsaking the assembly?
To be honest, though, I think that whole debate is missing the point. This text isn’t about assembling for the sake of assembling. It’s about assembling in order to encourage one another and stir up love and good works. There’s a real temptation here for us to get self-righteous, to start judging hearts because we think the only reason someone wouldn’t come is lack of faith, and we’re better than they are, right?
Brethren, rather than judging one another, we need to be concerned for one another and look for ways to help. All these people who haven’t been here, whyever they haven’t been here, are missing out on a serious amount of one-anothering. They haven’t been stirred up. They haven’t been encouraged by being around other Christians. I think our tech team has done wonders in working on our livestream, but watching church from home just isn’t the same as assembling with the saints.
In short, these Christians are people who have been on spiritual starvation rations, and that shouldn’t stir our contempt. It should stir our compassion. These are people who have been isolated from the love of the congregation, and we should want to help.
Here’s what I want to suggest, then. This week sometime, go through the directory, find someone who hasn’t been here, and call or write them. Don’t passive-aggressively hint that they really ought to be coming back to services, those slackers! Talk to them the way you would want to be talked to if you were in their shoes. Tell them that you love them, that you miss them, that they matter to you. Ask how you can help. I guarantee you that the impact you have will be far out of proportion to the effort you expend.
Second, let’s HONOR THE ELDERS. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13. Let me tell you, brethren: after the 2020 they had and the 2021 they’re having, they richly deserve that recognition!
Part of the problem, I think, is that a good eldership is like a duck. Let me explain. You ever gone out to a park or something and watched ducks swim around on a pond? From the shore, it looks effortless, doesn’t it? They just go sailing serenely along. Underneath the water, though, it’s a different story. Those webbed feet are going like crazy!
That’s how it is with elders. You sometimes hear Christians croaking, “What are the elders doing? The elders aren’t doing anything!” They only say that, though, because they don’t see all the activity that’s going on under the surface.
Brethren, I think that if we knew how many hours the elders have spent this year trying to lead this church wisely, trying to balance our physical health against our spiritual welfare, we would be humbled by the depths of their self-sacrifice for us. They’ve been watching the disease data every day. They’ve been studying guidelines. They’ve been texting one another and calling one another and emailing one another and meeting with one another. They’ve been fielding calls from members, sometimes not very respectful ones. They’ve been praying. They’ve been tossing and turning, trying to figure out the right answers when nobody has the foggiest idea what the right answers are.
Through it all, they’ve done amazingly well. I can’t point to a single decision they’ve made in the past year and say, “That was just dumb.” All of us owe these good men a tremendous debt.
In return for all that, our respect is nothing more than they deserve. Let’s consider, then, three quick ways we can show them love and honor. First, we can defer to their judgments. Even if we don’t agree with them about something, we must acknowledge that God set them over the church, not us. We also might want to consider the possibility that six men chosen for their wisdom are right and we aren’t.
Second, let’s let them know that we appreciate them. This week sometime, send one of them a card or a text that isn’t bringing a problem to them or complaining about something, but is just saying “Thank you.” We could stand to do a lot more of that all the time, honestly. Third, let’s make a practice of praying for them, asking God’s blessing on them in a detailed way. Every one of them would tell you that they need it!
Finally, let’s PREPARE TO DO GOOD. Consider the example of 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. We’re very familiar with this text because it tells us how to give to the Lord’s work, but there’s more going on here than merely that. We use this text as authority for indefinite collections, but that’s not what this one was. Instead, by contributing week by week, the Corinthians were preparing for Paul to come and take their cumulative contribution to help the needy saints in Jerusalem. They couldn’t send that collection right then, but they were getting ready for the time when they could send it.
In addition to all of its other unwelcome traits, I think most of us found 2020 to be a spiritually frustrating year. There were lots of things we wanted to do for the Lord and couldn’t. We canceled potlucks, singings, Bible studies, and get-togethers. In a year when we couldn’t even have all our own people assembled at once, it seemed pointless to invite visitors to our assemblies.
At some point in the future, though, all those restrictions will no longer be in place. Like the Corinthians, we need to get ready now for what we want to do then. I’ve already had some of you talking to me about things that you want to try in the future, and I think that’s great! Let’s all of us start thinking that way. Think about that devotional you want to host. Think about that neighbor you want to invite. Plan for how you want to do it, then, when you have opportunity, follow through.
