In the past two weeks I attended a family reunion, joined
1000 Cooperative Baptists at the CBF annual gathering, packed for the trip of
the year, and then canceled that trip the night before leaving due to contracting
COVID. I also spent the most miserable July 4th ever, chilled and
coughing. Because we humans are fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14) and
because antivirals work, I am on the mend.
What conclusions come to mind as I ponder the last couple
of weeks? Jesus Christ is Lord. I know, I know, that’s the core Christian
confession. That is true in all circumstances, times, and places. And for me
that’s the point. I love the thirty family members I visited. Some are very serious
about their faith, and for others, Christianity is an ancillary part of life. I
love being a Cooperative Baptist even as I heard many with whom I disagree get
a lot of microphone time at the gathering. If I get to take the long-planned
trip with my sons, it will be in God’s hands. If COVID had not come along, the
last two plus years would have been different.
The ‘if’s,’ the hiccups, the times when things go
sideways; life is unpredictable, but the goodness of God, the Lordship of
Christ, and the hope we have is unshakable. I intend to lead our church in
doing a serious self-inventory. What’s our identity? What do we value most? Are
we willing to do what needs to be done to grow as a Church? Who are the people
who will make up our church family over the next decade? We will give serious thought
to these questions. We will pray and strategize our way forward.
No matter what happens, one thing is certain. In Jesus
Christ, the Kingdom of God has come near. In Him you can have forgiveness of
sins and life in His name. I hope those last two sentences become so
commonplace that everyone who attends our church can rattle them off on a moment’s
notice. And, I pray that besides reciting these lines, our family will come to
a deep understanding of what it means to say, “Jesus Christ is Lord.”
