Serving

So thanks to Charlie's hard work and dedication, I am able to read the lessons given by the five men who preach in Castlemilk. The place I would be calling home, if not for immigration laws.

So I was reading along a couple of weeks ago and thinking to myself that these gentlemen, even in secondhand written-down form, are still quite distinctive. I think anyone who has heard them could pinpoint which lesson was whose even without Charlie very helpfully telling us. And no sooner did the thought occur to me than I read the first paragraph of Mark's lesson and thought, Oh, yes, definately Mark. :)

The lesson was on serving, but I don't want to blantly plagarise what he said. So instead I'll plagarise James: what good is it to claim to follow Jesus, turn up on a Sunday morning looking well-pressed, wearing one's Sunday smile and all, saying all the nice Sunday words, but never act on that claim otherwise? It's very easy, at 11:00 AM every Sunday, to love one another. How easy is it come 12:01 PM when Sister Slowpoke and Brother Boring want to talk for an hour about this ache or that pain? Or even more so, when said brother and sister ask if you can come with them to move large and heavy things around their house?

In a large congregation such as the one we attend, the opportunities to serve are limitless. However, finding them can be a challenge. I'm not kidding. I spent the first 21 years of my life in small congregations, where everyone knew within 10 minutes if someone had a need. At South Plains, I consider myself lucky if I hear about something early enough to still send a card, because usually the time for physically being there is past.

So, what can I do? This one, fortunately, has a simple solution; keep my eyes and ears open. The opportunities will come if I am looking for them. But if I'm not looking, I may as well stock up on cards and stamps. I'll be needing them.