Ubuntu

As we gathered in church for a Christmas party for pastors, staff and elders (and their spouses) tonight, it felt "right" being there. While the warm greetings and refreshments were welcome, it was the fellowship with other members of the church body that brought the evening to life.

As our pastor and others shared in situations where God had shown up over the past year and somehow blessed the effort at hand, the more I realized that it's the church body (that's us) whom need to be helping others; feeding the sick, visiting the lonely and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. We're all interconnected and we all need each other. Surely, it's God that's the center of our focus, but we're meant to also fellowship with and minister to one another. We need to help carry each others burdens and stand together and fight against the evil one.

The party was excellent. At the end of the night, all I could think about was Ubuntu.

Ubuntu? What's that? Well, It's a Linux Operating System- one of the best distributions in my opinion, and it's absolutely free. How does this tie into my previous topic? Read on and I'll explain.

You see, "ubuntu" is also an African word which embodies several meanings. The one I first came to know was: "I am what I am because of who we all are." Another definition reads: "A single straw of a broom can be broken easily, but the straws together are not easily broken."

That sounds a lot like Ecclesiastes 4:12 and 1 Corinthians 12:16-18 to me.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New International Version)

12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

1 Corinthians 12:16-18 (New International Version)

16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

We're all very different members of one united family and we rely on each other each and every day. I love that.

Good Night