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REFLECTIONS: Being anchored to a firm foundation

“Is that patio table and chairs for sale,” I asked? “Yes, it is,” said a person overseeing the estate sale. My husband and I looked it over, asked the price and determined that it was fair.

After paying we loaded the table on the back of our S-10 pickup. Then we added four chairs by setting each chair seat on the top of the table so the legs stuck up and the chair backs slid down into the pickup box. The person from whom we purchased the unit brought some shrink wrap and wound it around the chair legs.

A few blocks down the road I saw the whole pile shift because of the wind created by our forward motion. My husband got out and discovered that two table legs had slipped into the joint between the pickup bed and the open end gate. All was well and perhaps more secure since two table legs were firmly in place. Confidently we continued toward home.

A few blocks later, startled by a loud crash, we saw the unit of chairs fly off the table and bounce onto the street. Thankfully, no one was behind us or they could have been hurt!! Also thankfully, the chairs seemed fine even though they had bounced into one another as well as onto the street. We determined that, even though this was a used set, it was sturdy! We returned them to their place on the table, anchored them together and then found a way to anchor the chairs to the table. The rest of the trip home was uneventful.

While no illustration is perfect, I felt there was a lesson to be learned that could apply to our relationship with Christ, other Christians, and the world. Being part of the church is twofold. First, we are to be anchored to Christ and second we are to live in unity with one another. Considering our little accident, I thought of it this way. It is important that we, the members of the church (chairs) are firmly anchored to Christ (the table). If we are not securely bound, we may be spiritually injured if we fly off when the winds of change bring challenges.

A problem can also occur if we are more tightly bound to each other than Christ. If we fly from our anchor in Christ, we could drag others with us into directions that could be harmful not only to ourselves but to them as well. We can even bring about confusion in the broader community if they are in our path. When the winds of oppression, change, challenge or dissension threaten to blow the body of Christ about, we can stay secure only if we anchor ourselves firmly in Christ.

Let us all be mature within the church by being firmly anchored to Christ. May we also be joined in unity with one another. “…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14)

Helen McCormack and her husband, David, are members of Wycliffe Bible Translators and serve from their home in Minot.

Reflections, a mini-sermon written by Minot and area clergy, will appear each Saturday in The Minot Daily News. Clergy interested in writing a mini-sermon should contact Andrea Johnson at 857-1945 or ajohnson@minotdailynews.com

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