Growth and Order

Elisabeth Elliot (Back to the Bible) once wrote on nine principles for the shaping of a Christian family. They include firstly the authority of Christ followed secondly by order. Elliot quoted punctuality as a visible sign of order. Her father often reminded her, "When you're late, you are stealing from another person the most precious commodity, which is time."

Dear brothers and sisters, have you made your New Year’s Resolution? If so, has it anything to deal with order? As an interim minister of our church, I must apologize for my unpunctuality at times. Presumably, most of us have been unpunctual occasionally and there is a variety of reasons behind it. However, our growth will be affected if our unpunctuality becomes habitual. Why? Being human, we and our church are subjected to the normal norms and effects of human interactions. For instance, we like to start our worship at 9:45 a.m. while it is often started around 10 a.m. instead. Such a phenomenon not only affects our feeling but our spirituality as well because our worship is a divine appointment with God. We’d hardly miss any important appointment with a prominent person. Most likely, we would be well prepared for it. Hence, punctuality reflects our preparation. If we are not well prepared for worshipping and meeting our Lord, do you think our spirituality will be benefited accordingly?

One of my New Year’s resolutions for you is that 2006 will be a year full of blessing, growth and realization of your personal goals in the Lord. Let’s learn from the Lord’s teaching on the faithful and observant servant (Luke 12: 35-40) for blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. As leaders of our church, I am sure our leaders would agree that it is our obligation to set a good example in our church. To this end, your support and encouragement are vital. Let’s therefore stimulate one another towards the good deeds and blessings in our Lord. Amen.