Walk out with God into something new
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Some 34 years ago there was a time to set up a ladies group “Midway”, and today (Thur 28 Mar 2019) that season has concluded. Many activities have taken place over the years that can be read about elsewhere but let me share just one final thought. The final session took the shape of a mini Passover.
An ordinance that God commanded in Exodus for His people to celebrate as they remembered God`s deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:17) It has an elaborate “liturgy” with some 14 steps, but the key isn`t just to retell and remember the story of Exodus but to personalize the story with the sight, sound, feelings, sensations and even taste of the journey as if you are participating now in the event, making it your own. Even today, in this way the Jewish people both individually and corporately prepare to move forward with their questions, challenges, moans and uncomfortableness, and walk out into the unknown, excited and daunted, but with the One who knows the way.
Sound familiar?
The ladies of Midway, walk out into the unfamiliar. Like the Israelites, the hope is looking toward the Promised Land via some wilderness wandering and challenges that encourage trust in a God who leads, provides, protects because He loves us. The corporate “remembering” is a community of like-minded people that learnt together about God in a fellowship where they could share their life experiences as friendships grew.
1300 years after that 1st Passover rooted in the Old Covenant, Jesus heralded the New Covenant by celebrated it with his friends and gave new meaning in the institution of the Lord`s Supper. Jesus` words during the Last Supper about bread and wine echo what he said after feeding the 5000: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty… I am the living bread.”
Like Midway, as we step out into the unfamiliar, let`s hold on to Jesus promises, and walk together.
Sue Clegg