Set apart: you have a special purpose

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” 

Lately, my church has been studying in Acts about how the early believers were so faithful in meeting together ~ eating meals together, opening their homes to host one another, and pointing each other to the truth of God’s word. It seems that our culture has drastically shifted away from this practice. We often keep in touch by scrolling for social media updates and we hesitate to be inconvenienced by a spontaneous home visit. I am definitely guilty of believing that I know what’s going on in a friend’s life when truthfully I’m just observing what they’ve chosen to share in the public social sphere. Which we all know isn’t the full picture. I don’t actually know what’s going on in their hearts, which is most important. 

What if instead we picked up the phone for true reconnection or scheduled a coffee date? What if we didn’t dwell so much on the condition or cleanliness of our homes but instead had an open door policy to unplanned visitors? What a novel idea, right? It’s uncomfortable, it’s uncommon, it can disrupt our plans. But WOW can it also be impactful. 

I may strike a nerve here with this next thought, but let’s talk about virtual church streaming. Several of us became comfortable with this practice during the Covid season, but there came a point where I truly missed the physical fellowship with believers. I wanted to be known and be accountable. Think about your life today. In what arenas are you showing up to point others to Christ?