[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during February 2022]
During a recent sermon, Pastor Martin quoted an old African proverb:
‘It takes a village to raise a child’
That invokes an image from a by-gone age: a man, his wives (plural), their collective children, aunts, uncles grandparents, neighbours; probably all related to a greater or lesser degree. And all working together to raise the educate the younger generation in the ways in which their society functions. Actually, for me, that is not so much an image as a memory; part of my formative years were spent in a country where such arrangements were common.
Compare that with our modern, western 2+2·4 (ideal?) family where ‘village’ is largely irrelevant, relatives are best kept at a distance most of the time and where to comment on a man’s parenting abilities is only slightly less impertinent than criticising his driving skills.
Are there any spiritual lessons that can be drawn from these two scenarios? Despite their differences, they are both examples of households and throughout the Biblical narrative we see that God deals with and through households. In New Testament we see the household of Lidia as just one example of those households that hosted the meetings of the local Christian community. In Old Testament times, too, we see that Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Rahab and others all moved their households in accordance with God’s instructions; Moses even took a whole nation along with him.
How does our closely-knit western family unit react when faced with the more diverse composition of a church? We believe that we are saved as individuals; how does this affect our endeavours to worship as a community? Are there brothers and sisters in the congregation from whom we prefer to keep our distance or move away? Does the prospect of spending eternity with “them” fill you with dismay? Don’t worry; in heaven they will all be changed – and so will you!
As individuals, we have easy access to the Bible and numerous expositions and commentaries; we can make do without having someone else to interpret God’s word for us. Beyond that, and for a variety of reasons, there are those who cannot access conventional church services. COVID restrictions have encouraged churches to explore the opportunities offered by developments in communications technology. The potential embarrassment of personal witness can be mitigated through the interface of a keyboard. Sermons are no longer addressed to, and forgotten by, a single congregation.
This is obviously a major divergence from the model demonstrated by the churches of New Testament times. Those churches had a greater sense of immediacy that Jesus could be coming back soon, so ordered themselves accordingly. We are 2,000 years closer to the Second Coming yet we have, largely, relegated it to a theoretical possibility.
God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year;
God is working his purpose out and the time is drawing near;
Nearer and nearer draws the time, the time that shall surely be:
When the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. [1]
Are you ready to get your feet wet?
[1]: Arthur Campbell Ainger (1894), after Habbakuk ch 2 v14.
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
