Sunday evening I went out to a local village church with some folks from the hospital.... I think the best word to describe the service would have to be "boisterous." We had a song leader singing enthusiastically into a mike, with a guy on guitar plunking along as best he could. They were both amplified out of a couple of small speakers cranked to maximum volume. The congregation sang along fervently, clapping and banging tambourines, with little regard for minor details like pitch or rhythm. It was a riot of noise... and, at the same time, incredibly beautiful. People weren't concerned with sounding good or looking just right, they were focused on God... which is what I think He appreciates most anyway.
It struck me how incredibly similar the service was to another church I'd been to, last summer in Ecuador... another one-room concrete building set on the dirt-road main street of a coastal village, filled with people lifting praises to God despite their poverty. Which pleases God more... the lavish gifts of the wealthy, or the widow's last penny? I think the people I'm down here to serve just might have some lessons for me in return.
It struck me how incredibly similar the service was to another church I'd been to, last summer in Ecuador... another one-room concrete building set on the dirt-road main street of a coastal village, filled with people lifting praises to God despite their poverty. Which pleases God more... the lavish gifts of the wealthy, or the widow's last penny? I think the people I'm down here to serve just might have some lessons for me in return.
Mark 12:41-44
No comments:
Post a Comment