Family Reunion

Can you imagine the excitement a family might have on their way to a family reunion? Can you imagine their anticipation as they get closer and closer to seeing brothers and sisters whom they have not seen in years? Brothers and sisters they have dearly missed? 

UNABLE TO MEET

The COVID-19 pandemic has found many families homebound. Many families have extra time with one another and yet this same season finds church families unable to meet. 

For the first time in my lifetime, a virus finds church families all around the world unable to meet. In an effort to love their neighbors, protect one another, respect local authorities, and walk in wisdom, churches are left with home visits, phone calls, letters, social media, and online services as options for connecting with one another. 

IN EXPECTATION OF THE COMING FAMILY REUNION

Oh how sweet it will be when we’re all together worshipping again! 

Can you imagine this family reunion? 

Can you picture brothers and sisters in Christ who have missed one another dearly, coming back from quarantine and social distancing with a renewed appreciation for church gatherings? 

Can you picture them shaking hands? 

Hugging one another?  

Laughing together and opening the Word of God together? 

Singing out praise songs right next to each other? 

LET PAUL’S HEART BE OUR HEART TODAY

My heart is filled with two verses from Romans 1, as Paul told the church in Rome: “I long to see you,” so that “you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”  

The city-wide shut-downs, closed public gatherings, curfews, travel restrictions, and social distancing, bring unprecedented challenges for today’s church. 

Instead of allowing frustration and grumbling to fill our thoughts, let us fill our minds with longing and anticipation for the coming family reunion! 

Let us live these days with excitement for the mutual encouragement, and expectation for the day when we will gather again and grab hands as we lift up our hearts to the Lord in prayer and praise! 

Jonathan Williams, Ph.D. (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the founder of Gospel Family Ministries, the author of Gospel Family: Cultivating Family Discipleship, Family Worship, and Family Missions, and the senior pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, TX. He lives in Houston with his wife and three children.