I know you are close to your physical family. We tolerate the invasion of our personal space by not only our kids but our spouse as well. We don’t mind the invasion. We are intimate as a family. What about our church family? Do we invade our personal space? Are we arm-length apart? We have to work on being intimate. Last Sunday, we had sung the song “The Greatest Command” while holding hands across the aisle. I know there are people who don’t enjoy this invasion of their personal space. The opposite is true as many this was their highlight of the week. They got out of their comfort zone and got closer to their church family. Church- Let’s work on being intimate and/ or moving closer to one another.
In Jeremiah 29:11:
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
We make our plans that the Lord already knows. Let’s plan to be closer to not only God but to your church family as well. We as a society try our best to be arm’s length away from people. Do we treat God the same? What about your church family. It’s about love. In Romans 12: 9-13, we learn more about love. We need to practice this as a church.
In Revelations 3:14-16, we read about a church in Laodicea. We don’t want God to come knocking at our door to get our attention. We must remove our arm-length approach and let go. We should be intentional with our church family. I have challenged the staff and our 60’s group this morning to remove that arm- length mentality. Let it be about others. Let it be about God. Let us be like the John 13 example of Jesus washing feet. Nothing is more intimate than letting someone else wash your feet. In closing, I have three things to remind about practicing this principle:
1. It takes time to implement
2. You will have to try your best to be transparent and letting others see you. \
3. You must be intentional
Let’s continue to be intimate with God and with each other!