I’m sorry I did not recognize a very apt symbol for this past Sunday’s sermon until after the fact. Sometimes things are hiding in plain sight, aren’t they? That is, of course, the reason we Christ Followers have to be ever-looking at the Lord to open our eyes to see blessings that are already near at hand!
On Sunday, the Church Flower Committee prepared what I now see as a wonderfully descriptive image to highlight the heart of the sermon in the flower arrangement they placed on the Communion Table. There we could see three sizes of Mason jars with beautiful flowers and greenery protruding from their mouths. I loved the display but, the more I have thought about it, I really loved the symbol of the church depicted therein!
As we noted from Paul’s letters during the sermon, the church (i.e. the “saints” who have been called out and set apart to follow Jesus) has been gifted by the Spirit and charged with the never-ending call to “build up” one another toward maturity in Christ. That being so, those three sizes of Mason jars remind me of this:
- Like the three jar sizes on the table, every “size” (i.e. age) of person is to have a place to grow into spiritual maturity as we become more and more like Jesus. From the eldest to the youngest, the need for an age-focused experience of discipleship in Jesus is at the heart of who we are as a church. I am thankful, therefore, for the great number of PSBC members who give of themselves every week to encourage all ages in Sunday School and in our Wednesday evening choirs, missions, and Bible study groups!
- Each of the Mason jars, were “open-mouthed” on the table so the flowers could be arranged in them. They are designed to be filled and sealed – a lid screwed on because no more can fit in. But, not so in the life of Christ Followers. There is never a time in our spiritual journey when we can say, “I am full of Jesus and need no more.” No, with every passing year from the cradle to our senior years, the Lord has more and more to teach us. It is to us to be sure that we stay “open-mouthed” so that we learn the next lessons God wants to display in us!
- Every single one of those Mason jars could stand alone to display the beautiful flowers they contain. Likewise, when our church scatters to school, work, home, onto football fields and volleyball courts and beyond, we each have the testimony of God’s grace at work in our lives to share with others. But, displayed together as they were on Sunday, they give the impression of the saints gathered and reaching to “build up” the church as we mature together in Jesus.
So, while the church is not a “one size fits all” reality, the truth is the church is a place where “all sizes” fit so that we are “one” in Christ. We need each other in this journey and I thank God for the ways the saints at Poplar Springs are embracing folks of “all sizes!”
In the Love of Jesus,
Tony Tench