Cloud of Witnesses

My church is preparing to begin photo sessions in order to develop a new pictorial directory. I happen to be on the committee that is working to produce this publication. Our committee had a meeting at church today, therefore a friend drove all the way to my parents' home to pick me up so that I could be at this meeting. This was an enjoyable time for me because it enabled us to spend some one-on-one time together. It is difficult to do this with people when you attend a larger church. I appreciated her continual willingness to do this as well as her helpfulness in seeing to it that I was able to get around appropriately on my cool scooter!

As a result of events such as those of today, I began to think about the choices we have in selecting our friends; in choosing the people whom we allow to be closest to us; those who will profoundly and positively impact our lives. "As iron sharpens iron, so a many sharpens the countenance of his friends," Proverbs 17:7.

I have to count myself fortunate in that it seems that there is a large number of people whom I care about, who also care greatly for me. Conversations that I've been able to exchange with such friends have pushed me to become more Christ-like; have challenged me to think about things such as motivations behind actions, the preciousness of others and how we might collectively further the kingdom in all that we do. To be able to walk away from lunch with a friend, thinking about the spiritual aspect of the conversation, contemplating the practical application that we sometimes don't even realize we are challenging each other with, is a gift. I cannot do this with everyone. I can only have this sort of relationship within the body of Christ. It is SO IMPORTANT to surround yourself with godly people. Age is no discriminator of strong bonds within the spiritual family. I love the closeness that is to be had with someone who is 78 versus someone who is 22; someone who has been attending for 30 years, versus someone who has only attended for six months. I am constantly amazed at how intricately and wonderfully constructed Christ's church truly is. There is strength to be drawn from each participant of the family. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," Hebrews 12:1.

It was so neat to look around at the different faces of the committee members and see one lady who just joined the church this past summer, another lady who just joined right before Christmas, two ladies who've been attending for probably over twenty years, another lady who has only recently started to become involved because she just moved here last summer. God is multiplying and adding to our "cloud of witnesses" faster than I ever could've imagined. He's bringing in more and more brothers and sisters to encourage, pray, and work together to serve Him. I don't know that it gets much better than this! These are the people I want to surround me! I would not have it any other way. Today was a neat reminder of the importance of the spiritual family.

"Cloud of Witnesses" - Mark Schultz