Shall we Gather
Although we went to the same High School, our paths never crossed until Monica took a job at TG&Y where I had worked for several years already. I had graduated high school and she had one more year left. It was the summer of 78. We went on our first date in early August. Go-carts and Arby’s. From that first date through numerous years of our marriage a day never passed where we didn’t spend some time together. We were inseparable. Literally so.
For the past ten years, ministry commitments have meant there have been weeks and months of being apart every year. Thankfully, technology now gives us a way to keep in contact. We can even text for free! So, we do almost every day.
As thankful as I am for that ability, it’s still not the same. It’s not the same as seeing her face, holding her hand, hugging her. A typed message, a digital photo, a kissing emoji is no substitute for real physical presence.
The pandemic forced many churches to adapt technologically. Facebook live became a thing almost every church was doing. For many, during those days it was the best they could do under the circumstances, but it’s not the best. It wasn’t and can never be a replacement, a substitution for the gathering of God’s people. An online presence can never supplant physical presence. The church, after all, is, by definition, an assembly.
It may have been our best but it’s not the best.
When returning from overseas, I always look forward to that last flight, landing in Tulsa, exhausted, weary, worn out, but excited. Excited because I know that when I walk down that long corridor, through the maze of fellow travelers, passing through the glass security doors I will see my beautiful, petite bride waiting to greet me. We hug. We kiss. We walk together. Together. Physically together.
As we think back over the past months, we ought to have learned that assembly is not an option on the buffet of life. It is a necessity for God’s people. And we all can and should say, “I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’”