Thought for 28 February

 

James 5:19-20

My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. 

I put out an email to our elders last week saying that we had been contacted through our website by a man who said he would like to come to our Church.  It was important that everyone knew to look out for him and to be friendly towards him and to make him feel welcome in the hope that he might become a regular attender.  Anyway, he didn’t show and this disappointed and concerned me a wee bit because it was him who approached us asking if it was alright to come along on a Sunday morning and I couldn’t help but wonder not only why he didn’t appear but also what made him reach out to us in the first place. 

It's great to welcome new people to our Church but today’s reading directs us to look at folks that used to be regular attenders, those that used to be part of the life of our Church that no longer attend.  If we can do anything to get them to return, that would be something that would be pleasing in the sight of the Lord.  It made me think back to the fifty plus years I’ve been involved in Church life and I can only remember doing this once.  Even then, it wasn’t purely down to myself, there were others involved in helping this person to make his/her decision to return.  When that person did return, they displayed increased commitment and probably gave more of their time than myself, or many of the other office bearers. 

As with so many of these extracts from scripture in these thrice-weekly thoughts, I’m feeling more than a little bit guilty having considered and re-considered the words from today’s passage.  Over the years, there have always been folks that have been attending Church for a long time or a short time and then they attend no more.  Some have chosen to worship elsewhere, and in some cases, I’m aware of their reasons for making the change.  For others though, there generally has been no follow-up on our part on some of these occasions to find the reason for the change of heart and based on today’s reading, can only be considered as opportunities missed.  Maybe we’re frightened of intruding on that person’s personal space, maybe they have a legitimate reason like work demands, maybe there is a health issue or maybe it is something else. 

If anyone suddenly does stop being a part of Church life, we have an obligation to find out a little more about the circumstances and if we are friends with that person, it is up to us to do something about it.  It might eventually turn out to seem like a waste of time……..but then again, it might not! 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you when scripture readings make us feel uncomfortable because they are giving us an awareness of things we should be doing that we’re currently not doing.  Help us not to be passive in our faith and give us the strength to react in a positive manner to situations where we feel we are falling short.  Help us do things in ways that we can be sure are pleasing to your eyes and when we have a choice, help us make the right one.  In Jesus name, Amen