KATHY PRESLEY

I attended a conference recently expecting nothing. I was being a team player. But I was pleasantly surprised and received a nice blessing from the leaders that were there. It's funny how sometimes, when we do what we may not want to do, or even need to do, but do it for others, or to be a part of others lives, or to be part of the team, that we are blessed in the process.

Which brings me to the idea of church life or being the Body of Christ. There are times when we get absolutely nothing out of it. But what if our time is not now, but another person's time is now, and we are to be a part of it for them?  What if we aren't "being fed"? What if we are there to feed? What if we haven't had anyone befriend us? Are we to befriend someone else instead?

I have gone for a couple of years with only two or three couples who have extended  invitations to lunch or dinner or anything. I have invited a couple of people who were too busy a couple of times. Oh, and they forgot to invite me back, so I wasn't sure if they were entirely interested. It seems they have all the friends they need. So, I suppose to protect myself from another rejection, I chose to stop asking. How many invitations should I have extended? One more? Two more?

And were those invitations to the ones that I thought I would enjoy being friends with? Maybe I should invite someone who I normally would not connect with. What if I am pleasantly surprised?  What if I do it for them and not for me? What if they became my very good friends?
Hmmmm?

Rather than chase after the people who reject us and who do not really want to be our friend maybe we should do as Jesus did and go to the ones who do. We may find them surprisingly enjoyable.
Christ built His church on those people. Hey................ wait................. I am one of those people.