College ministry
I have heard, as I am sure many of you have, that “necessity
is the mother of invention.”
I thought I would come up with a clever turn of phrase
like unto that one in regard to the experience of repetition
and its effects. But first, I googled and Google turned up
a Zig Ziglar quotation which captures the idea better than
I. Mr. Ziglar says:
“Repetition is the mother of learning and the father of
action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”
I have noted in my own experience the way repeated
reading of the Scriptures shapes the way I think and
thereby orders my words and my actions. The more I read
His word the more I find myself in accord with Him. I
delight in His delights and hate what He hates.
In our most recent Communion Service I happened to
notice myself doing a strange thing that has become quite
normal. As we all gathered together in song and silence
—eating, drinking, and praying—I opened my eyes and
watched.
I watched as brothers and sisters took the very same bread
that I had taken and eaten. I watched as they chewed
that same bread in their teeth, head bowed, eyes closed.
I beheld reverence, sorrow and thanksgiving on faces. I
saw the fruit of the vine given first to the ministers, who
had first given to us what they had first tasted of the word
in their studies. As I looked, that same cup passed to all
who came believing, and I saw as believing they drank. I
beheld, evidenced by the expression on their faces, as some
received a tangible token of forgiveness and strength. Yes,
lifting up my eyes I was privileged to observe the Church
of Christ as one body nourished by the body and blood of
their Lord.
I realized after the fact that I had done this, and more, that
I always do this. Every time I take the Lord’s Supper I
watch. I look at the bread. I hold it in my hand. I see the
redness of the fluid in
the cup, the blood of the
grapes pressed out for
me. As I pondered this
fact, it struck me that
this repeated behavior of
looking around the table
of our Lord has changed
the way I look at the
world of our LORD.
The more my eyes are
trained to see Him there,
the better I am able
to see Him here. Of
course, it is not only
my eyes. It is my ears
as well, and my mind.
All my faculties in fact
are being shaped by this repeated ministry of the word.
The word read, preached, sung, prayed, and offered in the
sacraments. The word like the waves of the ocean on the
shore repeatedly crashing against us, over and over again,
week after week shaping, molding, sifting and setting us
in place. In time, almost imperceptibly, it changes us. We
find we are inadvertently humming that one hymn. We are
reading Scripture with our families more. We are seeing
in one another something more than neighbor. We are
beginning to know the holiness without which we could
not see the Lord.
The repeated ministry of the word teaches our senses,
which in turn causes us to act differently toward
one another and those who are without, and finally,
accomplishes the great work of making scattered sinners
like us into gathered saints in Him.
I suppose on the other hand it is equally true that the
repetitions of the world can shape the way we encounter
the service of the word. Often this is the case, and the
realities offered can remain hidden even as we hear,
handle, and see them presented. While true, such an idea
is a fearful one. May God be merciful to keep us from such
dangers as He heeds our weekly prayer to “lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Amen.
I pray that our Father will see fit to make use of all the
preaching and teaching of His word for just that purpose.
More particularly, I ask that for the college students this
summer as we seek to meditate on His Law in Leviticus
and listen to the wisdom of His Apostle Paul in 1 st Timothy.
— Evan Gear
MESSENGER
JUNE/JULY 2018
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