Stewardship: Diane
Diane is one of those parishioners whose hand is in many activities. She tries as much as possible to participate in ‘everything.’ Her enthusiasm is infectious, and her giving spirit is a true blessing. She’s been here for many years and has found great value and nourishment in our worship and ministries. It, therefore, didn’t surprise me when I heard her refer to Christ Church as "the bedrock, the foundation" for her.
That thought reminded me of Jesus’ admonition in Matthew’s gospel when he compared building a house on a rock to one built on sand. This is what he said: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
To build a house on a rock - which is Christ - is to make God dependent on your faithfulness. It is to believe that you have the ability to endure every test or trial. To be sure, the rock offers stability. The rock offers endurance. The rock offers strength. The rock offers durability. The rock is the one thing that we can hold on to, and so we build on a rock because we believe that no amount of sand is ever enough. C.S. Lewis wrote that “There are lots of things you can do with sand, but do not try building a house on it.”
The question is, are you building your house on a rock, or on sand? And would you consider Christ Church as your bedrock or foundation? Christ Church is a gem, and just as much as we hold on to a gem, we hold on to Christ Church because within this holy space we learn the importance of relationships - relationships with God, relationships with others, and a relationship with ourselves... and these relationships often become our bedrock and foundation.
Christ Church has been a bedrock and foundation for Diane, her children, and her family and, in fact, for many other families because of our collective generous and kindhearted spirit of giving. Christ Church is also your bedrock and foundation because each one of you blesses Christ Church with your bountiful love and goodwill. How can I ever thank you for sustaining this community during both bountiful and lean seasons? It's something I always wonder about.
If you - like Diane - believe that Christ Church helps you to focus on all things important and true, then we invite you to prayerfully consider joining us in creating a holy space where we each can learn how to build and hold on to our relationships and to the rock of our salvation.
Thank you, Diane, for reminding us that God has chosen to make himself dependent on our faithfulness.
~Manny
You can view the above video by clicking the image, or by going here.