Let's Go Visiting!

I loved the Sunday night service this week!  In fact, for years now, the Sunday evening service has been my favorite.  I enjoy the intimate, relaxed atmosphere, the testimonies, and the occasional follow-up to the morning message.

This week the discussion of Genesis chapter 21 was particularly special.  For those who couldn’t make it, I’ll summarize a bit. Pastor Euler talked about the word “visited” in Genesis 21:1.  This is where God keeps his promise to give Sara and Abram a child. (And it so changes their lives that even their names are different!)  The emphasis here is that the word for “visited” implies that God got involved with Sarah’s life---that he paid special attention to her needs.

It’s the same word that we find in Genesis 50, where Joseph is stating his assurance that God will intervene in the lives of his people and bring them out of Egypt.  The idea also appears in I Samuel 2:21, where we read of the children God gave to Hannah after she took Samuel to serve in the temple.   There are other instances of the same word in the Old Testament, and in each case we looked at, God is showing an individual that he cares.  He is showing that he hears the cries and cares about the troubles of his people.

 Pastor mentioned the loneliness that grips us when we struggle through hurts and disappointments, when we have questions and worries we dare not mention.  He reminded us that God loves us, and that he will visit us in our pain.

It made me think of how people used to visit more than we do now.  It seems we had time—or took time—to sit and talk, to drop in on friends and share an evening on the porch or around the kitchen table.  As I looked around the auditorium Sunday night, I saw a lot of people who need a visit.  We have among us folks who have lost a dear loved one this last year.  We have members who are losing their health or their memory.  These people need to know someone sees. Maybe it isn’t practical to go for an actual visit, but how about picking up the phone or writing a note?

In some cases, a real, in-the-flesh visit might be just what is called for.  In the midst of our busyness, could we find that we really do have time to share our lives with one another?  Could it be that the rest of our time would be more efficient or that we would gain needed perspective from an hour or so of quiet conversation?

Whatever way we choose, let’s be obedient to God’s call to love.  Let’s be his hands and feet in this troubled world.  Let’s go visiting!

--Sherry Poff