Patchwork

Welcome to Unseen today. This week we had a program at work for Black History month. The post for today is based on something I wrote for the program. It is deeper than that, though. We who live unseen know that race it not the only thing that separates people. Read on for a lesson on celebrating "one another".

Patchwork

For by one spirit, we were baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free. 1 Cor. 12:13

I have a beautiful patchwork quilt and chances are you do too. The colors are as varied as the rainbow. The pattern seems haphazard at first. My quilt keeps me warm on cold nights and warms my heart, too because it was pieced together by women who love me. Your quilt is probably completely different from mine, but treasured just as much.

My quilt is like my life. Just as the colors in my quilt are varied so are the people who have touched my life and influenced me. They come from different culture, different lifestyles and different faith communities, but they all come together in a beautiful whole. Just as the pattern in my quilt seems haphazard, so does the intersection in my life of light and dark, joy and pain, and laughter and tears. We cannot have life, or quilts, without both.

If you think about your faith community or your family, you may think God chose an odd pattern, but like a patchwork quilt, he has placed people in our lives for specific purposes. 1 Corinthians 12 describes the body of Christ, or the church. It says,

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many (1 Corinthians  12:12-14)

It goes on to talk about how the members of the body cannot do without each other, and when one hurts the whole body hurts. There are so many verses in the New Testament in particular that teach us about “one another”. We are told to Love one another (1 John 4:7-8), to serve on another,(Galatians 5:13)  and to bear with one another. Eph 4:2.

People make up our life quilts. Our differences in culture, personality and opinions work together to increase the beauty that God can make.  Instead of letting these differences separate us from our brothers and sisters, lets celebrate “one another”

Ready or not?

Welcome back to Unseen. It has been a while because of illness and general yuck. With the holidays I was remebering family stories as I was working on a tribute for my mom. Read on for a lesson I learned from my grandparents.

Ready Or Not?

The day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 1 Thes 5:2

My grandparents were quite a pair.  They were married for 68 years when Grandpa died, so many times they had no need for verbal communication. The most vivid example was the dance they did when it was time for a visit to be over. Grandpa wore a hat whenever he went out and when he got ready to go he would walk through the room Grandma was in, carrying his hat. Grandma never responded at this point. He would wait a few minutes and then walk back through wearing his hat. She started thinking about getting ready then. A few more minutes would pass before he walked through jingling the car keys. She would start to wrap up conversation but she could talk till the cows came home and then talk to the cows. Finally he would start the car and then come in and give her a look. She would usually act surprised that he wanted to go, but would put on her scarf and get ready to go.

Getting ready to go is a process but it is necessary. Someday it will be time for us to leave here. Whether you die and go to be with the Lord or he returns to restore all things, we need to be ready. Peter’s description of that time is vivid.

  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with        a    great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Pet 3:10

 Paul encourages us to “walk not as unwise men but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. (Eph. 5:15-16)” The story of the wise and unwise virgins in Matthew 25 show us the necessity for being watchful.

For some people the Lord’s return brings fear, but it is a good thing for believers. We are not at home here. This week was particularly hard and I am glad to know that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for me (John 10). This world is not all there is. Take heart and keep watch.