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Lettuce


            Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,  by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25) See also Hebrews 4:1, 11, 14, & 16, 6:1, 12:1, 2, & 28; 13:13 & 15) 

         When a Bible study I was part of took on the daunting task of looking at Hebrews, I discovered the phrase "let us." It occurs fifteen times: 5 in chapter 10, and 4 in chapter 4. I was so impressed by this that when it came time for me to contribute to our snack, I always made a lettuce salad. Lettuce on its own is not very interesting. It is only when other ingredients are added that you get an real salad. The same is true for Christianity.
           The first two pieces of Let Us deal with our relationship with God. We are to draw near to God and we are to hold on to our hope in the fulfillment of His promises to us. The next three pieces of Let Us deal with our relationship with other Christians. We are to meet with one another to motivate and encourage one another.
            I tend to be a loner. I don't remember exactly when I stopped going to Church, but a big part of the reason was that I didn't feel like I belonged (even then.) I decided that I didn't need them in order to be a Christian. I didn't go back to Church until my freshman year at Penn State. It wasn't until I had attended church regularly for some time that I noticed that I had missed some opportunities. I had no example to show me how to draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. I had few examples of holding unswervingly to the hope we profess. I didn't have the chance to witness the one who promised being faithful. I had no one to encourage me, and didn't learn to encourage them.
         Even though I have been attending church for more than 30 years, I still find the Let Us passages difficult. The worst part of that missing education is that I still find it difficult to let others treat me as part of the salad. When people offer assistance, encouragement, even friendship, my response is some version of, "Thanks, but no, I've got it covered." I don't want to be a burden to them.
         I know better. Years ago, I was in a situation in which some people had gone out of their way to show kindness. Instead of cards, they used bookmarks on yarn so  we could wear them. I looked at them and put them away. After  two people confronted me (gently) about it, God confronted me. Those bookmarks were tokens of their love for me. In putting them away, I was rejecting that love. In tears, I repented. It's still a hard lesson for me to accept. It is just as much being part of the salad to allow others to practice loving and encouraging us as it is for us to practice on them.
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Birthday of
Sir James Matthew Barry (Peter Pan)

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