May 4

“If we are not careful, we can inadvertently bypass the relationship in order to get on with the activity.  When you are busy in your activity for God, remember that God leads you to the experiences in order to bring you to Himself.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 5/4

God’s illustration of this came this morning in a church we visited. It was geared toward college-aged young adults and used film clips and videotaped skits.  The sermon was on what true fellowship was. In the skit a Bible Study leader said she felt the study was going to be great because she had the key to success--organization.  We soon discovered her organization got in the way of true fellowship as she kept to her schedule.  One especially humorous scene was when she handed out papers meant to be filled out by the participants to share their thoughts on how the group should be run, but she had filled them out herself to save time.  She ran such a tight ship that she tried to maintain total control over what the group did as well as what they thought!  I laughed, but it was one of those guilty laughs.  I was glad I was in the company of strangers or else I would have been wondering if someone in one of my Bible Studies from years ago had patterned the skit after me!  The thing is, I’ve known for a long time that people are more important than projects.  Yet, I find myself being pricked.  This time, though, it’s my relationship with God that is being brought to my attention.  If I will allow God to bring me totally to Himself, I really don’t think I’ll have to worry about working on my relationships with people--that’ll take care of itself.

“God is faithful, by who you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9