Coming and Going

Coming and Going

"Life is about coming and going". That is what my cousin Bill said at his mother's funeral yesterday.  I wrote that down (actually I typed it into notes on my iPhone).

My Aunt Bertie was my mother's sister. She was 86. She had raised five children and worked and volunteered at a variety of things. She and Uncle Ken had been married for 69 years. She had done a lot of coming and going. But she had spent the last twelve years in a nursing home. Alzheimer's had ended her coming and going. But that did not keep her husband Ken from coming and going to her. Twelve years of coming nearly every day to the nursing home to see his wife. Twelve years of going back home to an empty house. Nor did it keep her children from coming to and fro to visit. Coming to make sure she was taken care of and then leaving to take care of the other responsibilities in their lives. I am sure there were times that the coming and going was difficult and probably a few times they asked why. But some things you just do because it is the right thing to do. You come and you go because that is what life is about.

So yesterday we gathered for her funeral. To be honest I argued with myself a little about whether I should go or not. I had not seen her in a long time and I did not know my cousins very well. It would be a long trip and would my going really be that helpful? But her children had come to both of my parent's funerals and some of them had even made the trip to Virginia when my niece died. I had been honored by the care and concern demonstrated in their coming and going. So I decided that I wanted to go and I determined that I should. Though I had not yet heard my cousin Bill say it, I guess something whispered in my ear that life is about coming and going.

So I went. Brock who is always up for a trip came with me to keep me company. We shook some hands and hugged some necks and caught up on a few people. We shared a few memories and sang some of my Aunt Bertie's favorite hymns. We celebrated the life she had lived and we rejoiced in the heaven she now enjoyed. Then we left.

I am so glad that I came. There are some things we just need to stop and go do, because life is about coming and going.  And you know sometimes we get so busy with the comings and goings of life that we forget that life is about coming and going.

Plus Members and Regular Members

My cell phone rings. I answer “hello”. Without identification the caller states “yes, I am a plus member and I just want to be a regular member”. I asked “sir, who am I speaking with”? My next question would have been “sir, what are you a plus member of that you wish to become a regular member of”? I was anxious to have had a little fun with the caller. But I suppose he recognized that he had the wrong number and without uttering another word ended the call.

I was left to wonder what organization he was a plus member of. I wondered why someone who was a plus member would want to become a regular member. Surely being a plus member entitled one to more benefits. Of course being a regular member probably cost less. Perhaps the caller had decided that the cost of plus membership was not effective. Maybe he simply could not afford it. Maybe he was not all that interested in the organization but still wanted to be a member.

Now I am a churchman. If my church had tiered membership I might have thought it was one of my church folks calling to tell me they wanted to downgrade their membership. But while we do not have tiered membership we do have plus members. Plus members voluntarily have a greater commitment and greater participation in the church. But that alone does not make them plus members. To really be a plus member you have to have a great love and commitment to the Lord Christ. I have been blessed with a lot of plus members over the years. They have made the work of the church successful. They have made my life a lot easier.

But sadly over the years I have seen some people who once were plus members decide to become regular members. Maybe we worked them to hard and they became tired and experienced burnout. Maybe they fell into sin and became ashamed. Maybe they just got to busy and lost some of their love for the Lord. For whatever reason they “became weary in well doing”(Gal. 6:9) and they released themselves from the responsibility of being a plus member. They began to watch more and do less. It is a lot easier to audit church than it is to do the work required.