Where we gather

By: Carole L. Haines

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)

Around a table filled with family and friends, I reflected on why we gather and where. I have seen crowds gather to watch a ball kicked, thrown or carried around a field. I have watched as the grieving stand beside the grave together, arm in arm, as the one they love is lowered into the cold, dark ground. Crowds slowly parade by the scene of an accident, offering silent prayers and being grateful it wasn’t they who crossed that intersection 2 minutes sooner. Strangers bond in conversation, gathered for all sorts of reasons. Gathering is so human, so comforting; helping us not feel so alone in this world.

We gather on Saturday nights, or Sunday mornings to worship our creator and grow in our faith. We gather, we laugh, we cry, we wait on our God to move in our situations, so long sometimes we wait. But because we gather, we do not wait alone. Because of Jesus, His love and promise never to cast us away or forget us, we are together . Because of Jesus, we are never alone, even in our loneliest days, He is here with us. His care and presence brings light to the darkness and hope to our hearts.

So, we gather together to praise the One and Only, whose life brings us life. It is where we gather, why we gather. In hope we gather still. We gather together to wait on Him.
For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)