It All Matters

This past week, RiverWalk lost three of its long time members, each of whom had arrived at or near the century mark.  Almost 300 years of faith and history was taken from us in the span of a few days.

Sunday evening, at our regular small group gathering, I ditched the normal review of the morning sermon in favor of asking my group to reminisce.  I opened with, “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say - - - - - - ?” and put one of the names in the question.

That questions started a great time of remembrance, thanksgiving, and hope.  Some of our small group only knew the deceased for a few years; others had known them all of their lives.  Yet we all were grateful for having known and loved them, and in turn being known and loved by them.

At the close of the time, I asked the group what we could take away from the lives of these three saints of God.  How do we go forward and honor their lives?  The comments that came were that they were great examples of faith…that they finished well…that they influenced many.

I closed by putting all of those comments together in a sort of sermonette by saying to the effect that these were ordinary people living ordinary lives, doing ordinary things in life…yet they indelibly touched the lives of countless many in ways totally unknown to them through their work.  They taught Sunday School classes.  They counseled and gave advice.  They lived lives of integrity and purpose.  They served the church family.  They went to work.  They served on committees.  They raised families.  But most of all, they displayed the love of God in what they did.

We often think of our lives as routine and ordinary.  But these three show us clearly that we don’t live in a vacuum.  What we do matters.  How we do it matters.  What we say matters.  How we say it matters.  Love God.  Love your neighbor.  All else depends on these.