I didn’t grow up a P.K. (Preacher’s Kid), but I’ve got the wonderful and challenging task of raising one. “Church” to Zack is much more than a building we go to on Sunday mornings, or different services or events we attend throughout the week, or even the most accurate definition of church, the body of believers. To Zack, Church is a second home. There is far more to pastoring a church than one young girl in our church informed me; “You only work one day and week, and even then it’s only for a couple hours.” Well, there’s a little more to it than that. Actually a lot more. Make no mistake, however, we know what we “signed up for”, and we thoroughly enjoy serving the Lord in this way.
Zack gets a front row seat to all the messiness that ministry provides. He comes in early with us as we prepare for our Sunday morning services, he stays late with us as we meet with different groups, couples and individuals to discuss the business of the church or the intricacies and difficulties of navigating our everyday walks with the Lord. Because of the frequency and his level of comfortableness with being here, he can, like when at home, get a little . . . shall we say . . . rambunctious. <Enter blanket apology for any disturbances he may cause>
Recently, because of the summer break, we drug him a long to work (church). We happened to have his two brothers with us that day, which we really appreciate as it helps minimize the “I’m bored” syndrome he sometimes suffers from by himself. As I went about the tasks of the day, I could here these words ringing through the echo-chamber that is our atrium, “Ready or not, here I come!” They were obviously playing Hide-And-See, and with all the great nooks and crannies throughout the church, they were having a ball.
For some reason those words, “Ready or not, here I come,” stopped me in my tracks. I instantly felt the Holy Spirit’s presence in the situation. I knew that God had a teaching moment for me. And so I stopped and listened. He began to share with me His heart for me, my family, and this church family. He presented the urgency of our time here on earth, and the importance of how we are orienting our lives; how we are preparing for Jesus to come back and bring us home to the Father. Built into “Ready or not, here I come” is implied “Get ready! I’m coming soon!”
I encourage each of you to take a single step closer to organizing your lives in such a way that you are preparing for His coming. Keeping our noses to the grindstone, knowing that our efforts in following the Lord’s lead will pay off hundreds of times over in the eternal age to come.
~ PASTOR MITCH