Let Us Love One Another

I wanted to share an encouraging note I received after a women’s event a few weeks back. A woman who had never been to Bend City before wrote,

“I just want to say thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome. I have never been so comfortable among a group of strangers.”

I know quite a few others who have shared this same sentiment, however I also know that this is not how every new person at Bend City has felt.

Our church has had the great privilege of seeing a huge wave of new faces begin to attend regularly around the same time. This is an exciting time for our young body and yet a time that calls us to be more intentional and more aware of the new and/or non-connected people.

As a new person it would be easy to have wrong perception that we are the ONLY new person and that everyone else is talking to life long friends, when in reality many of the conversations that go on at Bend City each Sunday are people meeting one another for the very first time.

You might remember what it feels like to be the new person, the feeling that everyone knows each other but that you are the outsider. I doubt it is a feeling you enjoyed.

As believers we are called to love and serve one another and to be hospitable. A great application of love, service and hospitality is to reach out to new people. Reaching out is not just for those in “leadership”; not just for those who have outgoing personalities; and not even just for those who are more gifted in this area. We are ALL called to minister with the grace and ability the Lord has given to us.

I am encouraging each of you to choose to reach out. Live in light of your love for the new people who continue to come to Bend City. Talk to someone on Sunday who you do not know; have a family over for dinner you do not know well; ask a group to go out for lunch or coffee. It may be a stretch, it may be uncomfortable, it may be hard and it will be extra time and work, but I think you will find it extremely rewarding. Another girl who had not been coming to Bend City for very long emailed me recently and said

“the more I reach out to new people the more connected I feel”.

Church provides us with a unique opportunity to live life with people who are different from us – people that we would not normally gravitate towards. In the church we get to be a part of the body of Christ made up of many many unique gifts, personalities, thoughts, ideas, habits, hobbies, interests, etc.. It is so good for us to grow in our love for the body by living together in unity. It strengthens us and strengthens the body.

I pray we would be a church that is known for our love for another. This will take each one of us serving one another intentionally.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”