Whenever I’m not preaching at Mountainview, it’s my privilege to give the communion meditation. Or “communion med” as we call it in shorthand. (Calling it a “med” makes me a bit queasy, like we’re giving medication to the crowd).
Typically, I will pick up a copy of our senior pastor’s outline on Thursday and look it over between then and Saturday night. That allows me to get a good feel for his main points and then be able to tie-in the communion thought to the theme of the message. I feel like it helps to create a worship gathering that flows and fits together.
This past weekend, I had my “prepared” communion meditation in my pocket and used it on Saturday night and at our first service on Sunday. At second service, God was gracious to bring to mind a story that fit well with the theme of the message (reproducing ourselves spiritually).
It was a story about ripples.
Nearly one hundred years my grandmother Grace accepted an invitation to go to church with a neighbor girl. That simple invitation set in motion changes no one could have imagined at the time. Grandma became a believer. She raised her children as believers, one of those being my father. My mom and dad were Christ-followers who raised their children in the faith of Jesus Christ. I married a wonderful Christian gal and we are raising our children to know and love Jesus.
But the ripples extend even farther than that. I have cousins who have gone to the mission field and nieces and nephews who love God. My extended family includes school teachers who bring God’s grace into the classroom. Neighbors, friends, co-workers … the list of people who have been touched by the ripples of that one invitation is incredible.
That’s the spiritual reproduction we rarely see. We may view an invitation to church as simply an invitation to an event; in reality, it might be the turning point that changes the direction of not just one life but the generations that come after.
What ripples are you creating?