Skip to main content

From Wells....

             Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23)

             For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18:20)

 

            I may go back to looking at the wells mentioned in the Bible, but I searched for the word in the New Testament on a whim. It’s used a lot, but only in John 4 (the woman at the well) does it refer to a place where one gets water. The only mentions of a pool are in John (Bethesda and Siloam.) So, while the heroes of the Old Testament met and formed treaties near springs and wells, in the New Testament, the synagogue seems to have taken their place. Synagogues are mentioned 67 times in the gospels and Acts. Things don’t really change in the epistles, but the word does. Instead of synagogue, they refer to the church.

            This is not to say that a person can’t meet God anywhere. But it seems as if God accommodates our cultural thinking, in the sense that He meets us where we look for Him, where people expect to meet people. My idea of building a “spring” of sorts in my yard isn’t a bad idea, but going to where others are seeking Him (Church) is better because in seeking Him together, we’re more likely to find Him, as Jesus points out in the second passage above. As a parallel, you’re more likely to find books in a library than in a restaurant. It just makes sense.

            And it fits with what God seems to be saying to me. One of the things I like about where I live in Florida is the sense of community. As I try to figure out what produces that sense, one of the conclusions I’m reaching is that  one of the factors is the fact that we have places to meet. There are a few community centers in Erie, but they seem to be a long way from my house. There are clubs one can join, but they cost money and seem to focus on drinking. For me, the logical meeting place is a church. If I want a community, I need to go where there is a community that I want to be part of. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more