Alva Review-Courier -

During a recent trip to Stillwater with the Bible Chair, I ran into a young man I met several years ago during Camp Uplift at Harding University (go Bison). He is now a student at the University of Arkansas (Woooo Pig Sooie!) and trying to decide how best to proceed with his studies and with the rest of his life. He asked if it was difficult for me to be so separated from my family. I told him that such a separation had become “normal” through the years and that I rarely thought about it. Of course, now that he brought it up, I’m thinking about it.

Twice each year, my cousins in middle Tennessee get together and enjoy some time in family fellowship. Mother and Daddy don’t make the trip as often as they used to. I haven’t been in almost a quarter of a century. As a result, I am NOT in the loop when it comes to family history, new births, passings, etc. However, since I’ve been so gone for so long, it rarely enters my mind.

People tend to invest most of their time in things that (a) make them happy or (b) make them money. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all live in Northwestern OK (happy) and all of the places that employ me are located within a stretch of a few hundred yards (money). As a result, I have become quite satisfied to stay in place. As a direct result, I miss out on some good times and have to deal with the occasional pang of guilt.

It dawns on me that some of our fellow members in the Body of Christ have adopted a similar standard when it comes to weekly worship. Many of the reasons I receive, when I ask folks why they no longer attend worship, fall into those same categories, i.e. “I have something else to do that I enjoy more” or “I have to work,” and a similar result might be expected. Just as I have grown farther apart from my physical family, many are daily growing farther apart from the Family of God.

I’ll end by passing along Brad’s question, “Does it hurt you to be away from your family so much?”

See you Sunday.