December 13, 2017

I sat in our living room watching through the window the evidence of a windstorm. The outside temperature was in the 30’s but felt like the mid-20’s because of the wind chill factor. The contrast of the indoor warmth to that outside cold caused me to be grateful to be on the inside looking out.

I thought about the benefits of our warm and secure home. Life can hand us many hurts and challenges, but if we have a warm and secure family connection, we are blessed. God’s plan for the family is that we love each other, offer forgiveness, express appreciation and walk the journey in support of one another. It is an amazing concept that works when we follow the guidelines of the Bible.

For followers of Jesus, the benefits expand to the church family. Imperfect humans guided by the Holy Spirit make the church body a place of warmth and security. With a few essential beliefs, like the deity of Jesus and the authority of the Bible, we can value each person, grow together in faith and usefulness, and demonstrate to the world that Jesus is the way to Creator God.

There is room to agree to disagree on the non-essentials and still live in a united family of warm relationships and the security of being there for each other. While accepting the reality of a cold and confusing world, we enjoy the benefit of a family where we feel valued and secure. People who do not have this in their natural family can find it in their church family.

Thinking ahead, I pondered our heavenly family, where there will be no evil or even the thought of it, and all will be eternally warm and secure. If there is wind in heaven, it will not be cold or damaging. There will never be a thought of heartache or insecurity. The Bible says that humans cannot begin to imagine what God has prepared for us. That promise makes me feel warm and very secure.

Pastor Bill Ehmann