The Joy of Being Received

In the movie The Martian, Matt Damon played a botanist-astronaut who ended up stranded on Mars.  He went through many, many days of solitude, but finally figured out a way to communicate with people on earth.  As he typed out his first message and waited, the tension was palpable.  When NASA responded to his message, "Yes, we're receiving you," the viewers rejoiced along with him as his sphere of loneliness melted away.  How wonderful is it to know that you are not alone?

When Elijah ran from the wrathful Jezebel in 1 Kings 19, he arrived at the mountain of God and found a cave.  It was there that God asked twice a simple question, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  Elijah responded twice concerning the hardships he was suffering, ending with the statement, "I alone am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."  As God responded by prescribing a way for Elijah to be relieved of his service, He included a very significant correction:  "Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him" (I Kings 19:18).  It was a reminder that Elijah was not alone.  While he felt beleaguered and felt alone and felt like giving up, God gave a reminder that Elijah's perceptions did not reflect the truth.  

Do you feel alone?  Do you feel beset by problems that are just too big to solve?  God still has His people, even if you don't see them.  While our world may seem to be swallowed up in immorality, selfishness, foolishness, and greed, God's people are still here and we still follow His way.  If you have been too long 'alone on Mars,' and wish to be received, reach out to God's people.  We can show you that you are not alone, and we can point the way to becoming one of God's children.

J

Church of Christ at Vermilion

5116 Driftwood Drive
Vermilion Ohio 44089
440-967-6757

Meeting Times:
Sundays @ 10 AM for Bible study, 11 AM and 6 PM for worship.
Wednesdays @ 7 PM for Bible study