“Faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
Sometimes the world seems to change so quickly it’s hard to keep up. In the past few weeks it’s felt like that for me. As we emerge from physical distances and approach a new normal sometimes requiring masks and sometimes not, or restrictions on gatherings and places, my head and heart keep spinning.
Perhaps I’ve grown accustomed to fewer social and church engagements. I don’t mind less crowded places or less time driving in the car. I do miss seeing people and have been glad to slowly be regathering together. Yet with regathering comes fatigue. I am still shy of seating at restaurants and I’m not sure about mass gatherings of people. I wonder if others share my reluctance.
I do want to remember love is the overriding rule of our lives as Christians. Love for one another… love for God… holding space for each other as we navigate these coming back together times. I believe one of the greatest lessons for me in the pandemic is the emphasis on how much we need one another and how connected we all are in this world. We are reminded in scripture “if a person says they love God, whom they hath not seen, and does not love their brother or sister who is with them, they are a liar and the truth does not dwell in them.” [1 John 4:20].
But loving one another can be hard. Though we serve God whose main concern is relationships and reconciliation, we do not always know how to follow God’s lead. This summer we will explore how we can follow our call to love one another. The Summer Worship Series will focus on “the greatest of these is love.” We will also be studying our life together as we travel through the book of Ephesians. So join us in worship each Sunday in person or online. Join us each month for our Wednesday Outdoor Worship (June 9, July 21, and August 11). Even in the midst of change and challenge, love asks us to keep moving forward and to keep reaching out.
So let’s gather and go forth proclaiming the greatest of these: LOVE.
Blessings and Peace,
Katherine