A matter of perspective...

This is what I think is faithfulness and love...

1. An elder preaching despite being ill.
2. Pastors remembering their sheep's birthday.
3. Pastors speaking appreciation and also words of caution when needed.
4. A whole congregation who come to church every single Sunday.
5. Sunday school teachers who love the children TONS! (Don't know how they do it!)
6. Ladies who come alongside one another in time of need.
7. Men who are available at any time to be that handy man or Mr. Fix-it in church.
8. People of all ages who willingly and happily pray for one another, the first chance they get.
9. People of all ages who serve in spite their busy schedules, to fix drinks, to prepare communion, to open the doors in church for us, to tape sermons, to bring in the toilet paper, to fetch drinks for the speaker, the drinking water, to give us a variety of food week in and week out, ushers who do not hesitate to use the umbrella on rainy days to ferry members from their cars to the church, without so much as a complaint.
10. The young ones showing respect to those who are older by appreciating and serving them by shutting their mouths at the right time.

Sometimes, we take some things for granted. For instance, we have a tendency to take other believers for granted, especially those in our own church. We take our pastors, our leaders, our friends, for granted. We think that they OUGHT to know us, OUGHT to understand us and OUGHT to do their "jobs" BETTER...

We forget to love them back, to care for them back. Worse still, we begin to compare them to some other church and their congregation. How the other church has some better program or speaker or idea or building or whatever... We just don't see the whole picture with our very limited perspective. We can only see things from our point of view and forget that it isn't the ONLY perspective.. I don't doubt that other churches have good programs, speakers, ideas or buildings, or whatever... Simply that, the other church wouldn't love us the way this church does. They wouldn't know us the way this church does. They wouldn't understand us the way this church does.... not at this very moment.

It's like looking at another person's marriage and seeing their marriage from your perspective. They SEEM happier, more fullfilled, more communicative, more loving, more everything...

Let's look at ourselves. Are we putting into the marriage, the same amount of energy, the same amount of love, the same amount of attention, or commitment, or whatever? Building relationships require our effort, albeit the effort the size of a mustard seed but still.... effort. God cannot multiply what isn't there...

We ARE in the business of building relationships in our church. That's what God placed us here at such a time as this for... So, let's start building it, instead of tearing it down with our words, our minds and our hearts. It borders infidelity and coveteousness to me sometimes... Instead, let's look at our church from a fresh perspective and see all that is good within us, just as God sees us and continue building it without further delay!

Lord, I pray that we'll see ourselves from your eyes and your perspective, and behold only that which is good, and do away with what isn't, by your strength and wisdom. Amen.

This is what I see from my very limited perspective...