Last month I officiated a funeral for the father of my childhood best friend. As my friend and his siblings were cleaning out his dad’s house, they came across a number of old videos and pictures. One of the videos contained footage of a joint birthday party that me and my friend had when we turned 5 years old. As I watched the video, one prevailing thought hit me: wow I was a bad kid!
The video showed me pitching fits, hitting other kids, running away from my mom, etc. And this was at my own birthday party! As I stood up to officiate the funeral, staring out at all these faces who knew me when I was a trouble-making little boy, I felt compelled to thank them for putting up with all my mess for all those years. They had a good laugh, but I do feel very grateful that the Lord placed so many patient people in my early life, many of whom were part of the church we attended.
My favorite New Testament “one another” command comes in Colossians 3:13: “bear with one another.” Or as the NLT puts it, “make allowance for one another’s faults.” Part of being in community together means recognizing that there will be others who we struggle to relate to, perhaps even get along with at times. But this is no reason to forsake community; rather, it is an opportunity for us to be shaped into Christlikeness as we learn to exercise kindness and gentleness and patience.
I’m sure many of the people in that funeral were shocked to see that I had grown up to become a pastor, especially if my bad behavior caught on camera was any indication of what I was like as a five-year-old. But they stuck with me, and I am grateful. May we stick with each other, remembering that we are all works-in-progress.
Ben
Below are some articles I have recently found helpful:
A Forgotten Fact About the Earliest Christian Movement
Church Members Who Build the Body of Christ
The Old Testament Sacrifices Teach Us a Great Deal
Six Ways Pre-Born Babies Glorify God
The Young Adult's Guide to Social Media