Let’s be honest – the public image of Christians hasn’t changed much. Painted as dour fun-killers, we often deserve the reputation. The unchurched see us as argumentative with each other, and self-appointed guardians of “the way things ought to be.”
I wish some of the irreligious people I know could have been a little mouse in the hole in the wall with us over the weekend. A few Christian friends caravanned to a gorgeous home built above a river in the Texas hill country. Four couples, two single ladies, and our single deacon. Most of the cargo was various kinds of alcohol, and the ingredients for some good eatin’.
Like anyone else, I have my foibles. One of them is that I dislike the word “fellowship.” It sounds so “churchy”. But this group defined fellowship. We drank, but nobody got drunk. We told ribald stories without being crude. No meal was eaten without joining hands in prayer for heartfelt thanks to God. (I noticed it was always said by someone other than the clergyman.) The music ranged from honky-tonk to classic rock to praise music. While some praise music DVD videos were playing on a laptop, we sang at the top of our lungs. This was not organized worship – this was spontaneous praise. We did goofy stunts - one of the men made a bet with another that he could cross the river and climb up the opposite steep bank, and get to a small white cross in under 23 minutes. He did it in 19 minutes – and the loser’s $100 went to the church. Some of the women smoked cigars, and men willingly played ping-pong with a visitor’s little boy. One of the ladies mobility is her motorized wheelchair. She had no hesitation to ask for help when she needed it – and nobody begrudged her the help. So comfortable was the situation, that some good natured teasing was given – and given back.
So – this is maybe a tiny hint and foretaste of heaven. People together, some with honest differences in their theology, all with their own warts of having lived, but loving each other knowing the group and the weekend itself was a gift from God.
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