What Should We Get the Kids this Year?
I visited this week with someone who is wrestling with where their family should worship, with a central theme being what's in it for the kids. The same day I had this conversation, I was reading the autobiography of well-known sports columnist Frank Deford, who, when talking about his hometown of Baltimore, quoted another Baltimore journalist, Christopher Morely:
"To be deeply rooted in a place that has meaning is perhaps the best gift a child can have."
Isn't that what the church is all about? A place, especially in the highly-mobile, always-on, society in which we live, where, at least for this moment, I have my roots because of the faith God has given me through Jesus Christ our Lord. And because of the reality of the universal church, no matter where we go, there is usually a congregation of the body of Christ to live with for a season.
Sometimes I am asked what is so important about worshiping on a regular, consistent basis. There are two specific illustrations that embody this for me far beyond the usual reasons, two concrete things that remind me of what all God has in store for us when we are about the business of being the church.
The first thing that comes to mind happened while my parents were visiting us for Thanksgiving. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we met some dear friends of the family from Lake Charles for supper in Baton Rouge. Even though my family left there 26+ years ago, the roots that we had through regular involvement in the church gave us lifelong friends that still are so special to us today. More than that, though, through the conversation, these dear friends remembered the circumstances of my birth and how much they prayed for us during the incredibly difficult first two years of my life with all the surgeries I had due to my conditions. We were able to celebrate shared remembrances that come from hours and hours of time spent together in worship, Sunday School, prayer, fellowship, meetings, etc., and as I sat there I was so grateful for their taking time to truly be part of the family, and I am so glad my parents made it a point for us to be so heavily involved in the life of others.
The second thing that comes to mind on this matter concerns something my grandfather shared with me many years ago concerning our fishing camp in Hemphill, TX. During one summer when we were there, he was telling me about how he and my grandmother attended church there when they were there on Sunday morning. I asked him, "Why?," and he said, "Well, it's the right thing to do, and the pastor there offers a different take on things than I get at home, and you never know what God's got to say if you aren't there." My grandmother told me later that she enjoyed meeting the people there. Again, they were sharing with me the joy of being part of the church, wherever they may be.
Every year, there's the 'gotta have' stuff on the Christmas list. May we all remember that as far as what a child needs, the best gift we can give them is deep roots in a place that has the deepest, most profound meaning of all, the Body of Christ. There's no better season than now for us all to be reminded that the most important Christmas gift of all is the Christ child, and there's no better gift to give someone than a shared life in the community of faith.
Grace and Peace,
Lamar