“But we brothers, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.”
The words “not in heart” in our text arrested my attention. When I read that, I thought of the eight pastorates that we served over a total of twenty-nine years, and of the churches in the Tucker Baptist Association that we ministered to for twenty-three years, and the two prison ministries that I had over those years, and it reminded me that all of them are in my heart. What a wonderful thought that is. I wish that it was in my power to visit all of them, and tell them what they mean to me. Even the negative things taught me and nurtured me in my Christian service. With this in mind, I want to share some random thoughts that came to me with the theme, “not in heart.” In Christ, we are bound in our hearts to each other. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are not natural “blood kin” but we are bound together by the blood of Christ. We were saved by Christ individually, but in His wisdom, He drew us together in fellowship. We cannot escape this kinship any more than we can escape kin to our natural brothers and sisters. Even as I write this, people from my past come into my mind, and I thank God for what they meant to my life. Brothers and sisters, reaching all the way back to my first pastorate, have blessed my life. You might have tried my patience sometime, and it is certain that I tried yours, but we learned from each other and we are bound for life into eternity. Isn’t this a wonderful thought! Christian fellowship is a sacred trust, because it is a matter of our hearts. This should keep us from bouncing off of each other and meld us together in a tight spiritual bond. In the name of Christ, we need to work through our petty problems and see our fellowship as God sees it. First Thessalonians was written in part, as were most of Paul’s letters, to shore up their fellowship. What was true of Paul and the Thessalonians is true of us, that is, we need to take our Christian fellowship seriously, for it is a matter of the heart. Well, that concludes my random thoughts on “the matter of our hearts.” Let’s give serious thought to this where we are at the present time. Do it!!! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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