Being there for each other is paramount.
Greetings from the manse in the name of our risen King and Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us access to the Kingdom of God through his death on the cross.
We have been grafted into the family of God (John 1:12) through our salvation in Jesus Christ making us to be a family of God. As sisters and brothers in Christ, we are called to look out for each other and taking care of one another in love.
My encouragement to us is to look after one another in love. In my talk last Sunday from Matthew 9:18-22, we learnt of a synagogue leader who came to Jesus and asked Jesus to raise his daughter who had died. The man was confident enough to approach Jesus and asked for help. Maybe because of his position and status in the community, he could ask for help, and Jesus was there for Him. We need to respond to the cries of one another for help with compassion and love. Being there for each other is what church should be and responding to needs of our sisters and brothers in Christ should be a norm at Plume Avenue Church.
On the other hand, the woman with the issue of blood may not have been confident enough to vocalise her need because maybe of fear of stigmatization or not wanting a lot of people to know about her situation except reaching out to Jesus and touching his garment by faith and Jesus granted her healing. We need to be there for the people who may not be vocalising their needs. We need to reach out to people when we sense they may be in need.
We need to reach out to the people in need with no judgement or attitude to superheroes but with compassion, love and grace. What should motivate us to help is Love not making a name for ourselves.
To those of us who may be in need, please talk to someone in the church and ask for help. I do not want any one of us to go through a difficulty on your own when we can help or talk to God in prayer. There is, however, need for us as a church to respect people’s privacy as we support each other in love, compassion and grace.
Let us endeavour to be there for each other as a community of believers and followers of Jesus Christ
Andrew
