Monthly Devotion-Vicar Lynne

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am so impressed with the love that flows through and from this church family!

I was recently the recipient of a tremendous outpouring of this love as I moved from my apartment in Porterdale into a rental house in Conyers.  I have never seen such a large and energetic moving party!  It began with a parade of trucks pulling into my parking lot and did let up until the move was complete.  The friendship and camaraderie that we shared throughout the day really touched me!

I know that getting a call that someone needs help moving is not the favorite call to get.  After all, its hard work!  And yet, so many people showed up and never uttered a word of complaint.  Instead, everyone pitched in, worked together, and enjoyed each other’s company.  It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in a very short time with teamwork and a good attitude!  And there is no better attitude than love for one another.

Of course, my move is only one small example of the work being done in love in this church.  Our preschool and after school programs are filled daily with the joyous sounds of children laughing, learning, and growing in the love of Christ because of the Christian love provided by their teachers.  And this joyous (usually!) noise can also be heard on Tuesday and Thursday mornings as our volunteers care for the smallest children in our Parents Morning Out program.  The teachers and volunteers in each of these programs are truly followers of Jesus, as He “took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them [His disciples], ‘ Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me’” (Mark 9:36-37).

We also welcomed many children and their families through our participation in Family Promise of NewRock.  What a blessing it was to see this congregation reach out in love yet again to those in need in our community!

We are now heading into the month of February, which celebrates romantic love.  What started out as a one-day observance seems to have taken over the entire month, as we are inundated with red hearts!  Don’t get me wrong – romantic love is important, and it should certainly be celebrated as the wonderful gift from God that it is.  But we are blessed in so many ways that I’m not sure it’s good to make just one type of love the be-all and end-all.  That can lead to tremendous disappointment and/or sadness for those who have not yet found or who have lost their special someone.

Instead, it helps to remember that there are many different types of love that we all give and receive, including the love of family, friends, pets, and especially God.  As our Lenten Season begins this month culminating in Holy Week and Easter, we claim again the amazing love of our God as seen on the cross.  When we focus on that, then we are enabled to act in that love, and truly be the disciples that we are intended to be.

It is this kind of acting in love that I witnessed in my move, and that we see every day in all of the ministries of Epiphany.  We are so very blessed!

In Christ’s love,

Vicar Lynne

Lynn@conyerselc.org
Vicar Lynne