A random thought on a specific day

The church family Jan and I are privileged to be a part of has not had Sunday School classes for adults for several decades. However, we do have what we call “Life Groups.” This designation is intended to be more descriptive; those who belong are supposed to be “doing” life together. I like it but still can’t stop calling our group “Sunday School.”

Our group meets in the home of our leader, whose home backs up to one of the parking lots of our church meeting place. This host couple is magnificent in hospitality and encouragement. I would call them “gifted.” We meet on Sunday mornings following the early worship service. We try to end in time for some of our group to get to the third worship service., but I want to let you know that the first Sunday of each month is designated as “Food Sunday.” If you want to join us, and I hope you do, be sure it’s Food Sunday! (If you are wondering, his information has no bearing on this post.)

A couple of weeks ago, the females of our group were gathered in the kitchen, and the males were standing around in the adjoining room that holds about a bazillion vinyl records. Our host is more than a collector; he is an archivist of vinyl music.

On this particular Sunday morning, as I passed through the kitchen, I overheard one of the ladies telling the others how hard it was to stay faithful to the diet her doctor “forced” to start. They passionately supported her as they discussed the agony of carbohydrate and calorie counting.

As I say, I passed through the kitchen. I don’t mind being in the kitchen. The “girls” topic was overly estrogenic, causing my feet to move toward a more testosterone conversation. They were contemplating Linard Skynyrd’s recent demise and how the storm on the previous Saturday night had cut short the George Strait concert.

I started a third group, consisting of me, myself and I. The guys (group 2) stood beside the turntable, and I (group 3) sat in a recliner. Immediately, a thought ricocheted around in my thinking space. Here is that random thought, “Isn’t it interesting that many of the bars and honkytonks in Nashville are located on “Lower Broadway.” A few of Jesus’ words trailed along behind the thought. I won’t mention them because the same ones have probably entered your cognitive backdoor as you read this.

Anyway, this is not about that.

This pondering is about being part of a church family. I belong with and to these people! They belong with and to me. We may not have much of anything in “common,” but we do have Someone in common. In addition, we are managing to build a collection of shared memories.

Unlike some groups I have participated in, this group gets excited when a new person or couple joins us. There is an anticipation of new insights in our passion to explore the truths of God. Also, the first Sunday of every month is “Food Sunday!” New people can mean a fresh taste of breakfast food.

The New Testament Greek uses the word “Koinonia” for such a group. It is often translated as “fellowship” and “communion.” It means to have something in common.

Jesus is the person our group has in common. We also share a common desire to fully know Jesus and allow Him to demonstrate His nature in our everyday world.

Here is a Scripture passage to think about on this idea;

1 John 1:7: “… If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (Christian Standard Bible)

Photo – An abandoned house outside or Lynchburg, Tennessee.