“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” –Hebrews 10:23-25

            Christmas time is a wonderful time of year. I enjoy the nice crisp air and the beauty of the snow covering the ground as well as getting together with family and friends. It brings such joy to the time of year when you are spending time with those people in your lives that care about you and what is going on in your life. You get to hear all of the random stories from that crazy uncle or grandparent. You continue the tradition of getting together for family meals or to open presents. And some get to welcome new members or reminisce about members who have since passed. But it all boils down to the time that you are spending together being in relationship with one another. You get to be together, and if there were no presents or the food was bad you would still have the memories that you share with those people.

            The same thing can be said about the time you spend in relationship with those people at your church or in your youth group. Those people who you spend Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights with are the same people who you will begin to form relationships with. They are the same people who you will dig into the bible with, or go on mission trips with. They are people who will be around when you start a family or are watching your family be part of some program. They may even be those people who you turn to when you hurt and need a friend to talk to. These people that you see on a regular basis are people who are walking through life just like you are.

            Maybe you don’t see them on a regular basis. They may be gone because they are taking care of a loved one or are sick themselves. They may be gone because their children are involved in the traveling sports that take them away from church regularly or maybe you are that family. Maybe you aren’t involved because other things come up or get in the way of you and/or your kids getting to church and building those relationships or making those memories. That’s where the writer of Hebrews has a reminder for us today. He says “And let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” It’s a reminder that says Hey! It’s important that you are here and are engaged because we care about you! We care about your family and we care about you hearing the message Christ has for you. So find that family or friend that you haven’t seen in a while and give them a call. Send them a reminder that you miss them and want to see them because they are important to you and more than that, they are important to God.

Question of the Day: Is there a family you can encourage to be more regular at church of youth group? Does your family need some encouragement?

“The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.” –Charles Dickens