Our Hope
Author:
September 01, 2018
Normally, you’d think that a reunion over a fishbowl at Fuzzy’s
would be for a celebration of some sorts. In a way, we were. Three of the
original four students that were at the Canterbury Center when I started
working in February of 2013 were back in town. Sadly, it was for the funeral of the fourth, Charles. The last time we were all together was over a
fishbowl at Fuzzy’s, celebrating two graduates and a new job opportunity. Needless to say I wasn’t expecting, only a
handful of years in to my ministry here at Oklahoma State, to be assisting with
the funeral of a former student. Yet
here we were, toasting a friend gone too soon.
Now that I’m a couple days beyond the funeral, one thing has
become quite clear. Community isn’t
contingent upon the one who leads it. Community is built upon the One who is at the center of it. Despite my plans and hopes and desires for
what our campus ministry will become, the depth of community comes from having
its roots firmly placed in the love of Jesus Christ. When we welcome one another in Jesus’ name we
are building our community on the foundation that will never wash away,
regardless of time away or distance between. When we walk with one another through our struggles and triumphs, we are
acknowledging the simple truth that each and every one of us is created in the
image and likeness of God, and worthy of one another’s time and love.
This is why, through tears and laughter, miles
separating and lives changing, we still have something in common. And for the record, it’s not a fish bowl and
four straws. Our hope, the promise we
hold on to, is simple. When two or three
are gathered, our Lord Jesus Christ will be in the midst of us and nothing, not
even death, changes that fact.
BACK