That's me with Joseph last Wednesday night at Bible study. Joseph, the son of David, our Chinese minister and his lovely wife, Yali, decided to come sit with me. I guess he thought I might be lonely or had something for him to play with. More likely, he wanted to peek into the trash can behind the pillar which I think is an obsession with him. Any way, I had some company as I listened to our English speaking minister, Dave Yasko, expound on the word of God. Everybody likes a little company.
You might wonder why I'm sitting on the floor at the back of a mid week Bible study in the first place. As always, there's a story. About ten years ago, I was working in a program we had at our congregation called Friendspeak. We used the Gospel of Luke to teach English and our students were adults whose roots were in China. We met on Wednesday night in my classroom in our school which is adjacent to our church building. On some nights, no one would come for me to teach so I would go over to our Bible study. As I would always come in late, I would sit on the floor against the back wall so as not to attract attention. But as time went by and my rotation with Friendspeak came to an end, I was in the habit of sitting on the floor in the back against the wall and I've never left. And that's how my buddy Joseph came to join me this past Wednesday.
It doesn't take much for some little action to become a habit for us, does it? And it need not originate with some well thought out logic. Perhaps some of my brothers and sisters might question my seating arrangement but no one has ever said anything while they sit in the regular chairs that are provided. (Let me add that on Sundays, I sit towards the front in our very typical pews.) We have new carpet so I'm comfortable on my perch and I don't think it inhibits my ability to focus on the lesson or singing or prayer. I mentioned in our Chinese worship this morning during my communion thoughts that we assume guests would know the meaning of the Lord's Supper but there's no guarantee that's the case. Jesus explained the symbolism of the bread and the cup which is a pretty good argument for us doing the same. In that light, I thought I'd explain why I sit on the floor in the back on Wednesday night. We've got room- Joseph and I will save you a seat!
Applicable quote of the day:
"Everything you are used to, once done long enough, starts to seem natural, even though it might not be.”
Julien Smith,
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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