Being Steady

My pastor had a series going this summer called “Monday Morning Church”. The idea behind this was to get people thinking about taking God with them outside the church doors. Those who attend a church service on a regular basis feel it is important to have a corporate group in which to learn, worship, and gain support. But what about those who don’t attend church regularly? His challenge to us was to be a carrier of God’s grace and goodness outside the building and past Sunday and Wednesday, or whatever days you attend church. In my notes came the following series of questions:

What does it mean to be a carrier of God’s grace and goodness?

What does that look like?

How important is it to have people visit church with you verses taking Jesus with me?

Being a carrier of God’s grace and goodness means putting aside all the things that bother me or come up against me and being steady through those things. How easy is it to act like those around us? If you work in an environment that is not Christian or ministry focused, the people around you can influence how you act and react, probably in a way that is not steady. That’s not how it’s supposed to be, but that’s reality. I have definitely been guilty of letting those around me influence my reactions. I can complain with the best of them! But that’s not what I want others to see. God has been good to me and my family- I have no reason to complain about anything. I want others to see God’s grace and goodness, not hear me whine about something I don’t like.

All of us were created to be a carrier of God’s grace and goodness. How different would it be if we walked in that everyday? How would that change what others saw and believed about us and God’s goodness? When I get upset about something and react wrongly, that is not showing God’s grace and goodness. That is probably why I want people to come to church. I want them to know what God can do and what His grace and goodness looks like because I fall short. I realize perfection is not what I’m seeking in myself, even though some would call it that. What I’m really seeking is stability and steadiness-the ability to do and say the right thing when things aren’t exactly the way I want them.

Perhaps it’s time to change my actions. I need to take God’s grace and goodness with me and allow Him to keep me steady. I love my church and think everyone who goes there would love it too! However, I can do more by taking God’s grace with me and showing God’s goodness to others where they are because God is not limited to a building!