More Beautiful Together

They say you should always stop and smell the flowers, but I like to stop and look at them too. One flower by itself is pretty, but dozens of them together is really a beautiful thing. No matter what flower it is, there's something more beautiful about them together in a group.

I was reminded of that during a church staff dinner. We got together with our families for a meal, discussion, and just good fellowship. Some of them are full-time, some are part-time, and everybody has a different area of focus, but it was fun getting together and being reminded of our shared vision and purpose in God's work.

God has uniquely designed us with a need for other people. From the garden of Eden he knew that it was not good for man to be alone, each of us has built into us a need for others. This is not only true in life, but it is especially true in the Christian life. There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian. Life is meant to be lived together. A solitary Christian is a beautiful thing. But a group of them together is the most beautiful thing in the world.

A group of Christians together is a family, brought together by God for the singular purpose of taking the gospel to the end of the Earth. I'm so thankful to have these people on staff to do that with at Immanuel Baptist Church. And for the church, a family created by God out of sinners, misfits, failures, and ne'er do wells. And when you look at them all together, you have never seen such a beautiful thing. Take a peek inside any church this week, you will see something more beautiful than the most ornate flower, more majestic than the mountains, more stunning than a sunset. You will see the people made into the family of God, for the purpose of taking the message of God, out to the people of God. It's a beautiful thing, don't miss it this week.