Showing up

 

Showing up Ephesians 6:21-23

There's power in showing up. God's power. Show up to celebrate a birthday, a new beginning or to honor the passing of a loved one or friend. When you show up, you do more than participate in the arranged gathering. You demonstrate. You demonstrate the far-reaching love of God in a hospital waiting room. A retirement party, an awards assembly or a coffee-shop meet up. Living rooms are great places to show up. God showed up in swaddling clothes (Luke 2:12). Yes, the celebration of Christmas is a baby. No, it doesn't sound as festive to say the celebration is actually flesh. God came in the flesh. We didn't have to imagine or infer God's presence. We could see it. There were eyes who beheld heaven's gift. People touched God's presence in the world with their hands. They heard a voice they trusted was God's. Jesus' words, his emotions and his thoughts were all brought to us in his flesh. And Jesus' incarnational ministry instructs ours. The closing of Ephesians reminds us how simple this can be. Tychicus was a "dear brother" of the faith. He had traveled and ministered with the apostle Paul. His name relates to one who is fortunate. And how fortunate Paul and the church were to have him. Tychicus would visit Ephesus to relate how things were going with, presumably, Paul (Ephesians 6:21). He would tell the church there all that had happened. As a result, Paul knew Tychicus would encourage their hearts (6:22). Imagine the blessing of reading a letter like Ephesians and of hearing how God was moving throughout the world. Now imagine your brother or sister in Christ shows up to tell you of it themselves. In the flesh. What blessing and encouragement. There's no lesson, necessarily. No sermon or Bible study. Just hearing of God's movement. Tychicus had a heart-strangely-warm ministry. He got to share hearts-burning-within-us news (Luke 24:32). And it's what can happen when we show up, too. Stay blessed...john