Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Friends and Associates”
Our Bible verse for today: “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor; for we are God’s fellow workers.” 1 Corinthians 3:8-9 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Join with others working for a meaningful cause.”
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and the father of modern-day analytical psychology. In the early-to-mid 1900s he did ground-breaking research which became the foundation for the science of modern psychology.
One of the most interesting discoveries to come out of Jung’s research was that a third of his patients suffered from no definable neurosis other than the senselessness and emptiness of their lives. He went on to state that in his opinion “meaninglessness” was the most prevalent psychological problem of the modern era. The poet Henry David Thoreau once described it as people living lives of “quiet desperation.”
When people don’t have a clear purpose in life which they are enthusiastic and passionate about they either shuffle through life dejected and depressed; or they fill the void with addictive substances like drugs, alcohol, and food; or they fill it with compulsive obsessions like spectator sports and video games.
People need purpose.
There is one particular group of people among whom we almost never see that lack of purpose or sense of quiet desperation. They are Christians who are actively and enthusiastically engaged in Christ’s kingdom-building work. Among them we generally witness a zest for life, a sense of enthusiasm and purpose, and an eagerness to be about their Father’s business here in this world.
Those are my kind of people! They’re the people I want to be around and be a part of. We certainly see that in our church, Oak Hill Baptist. This is an “Acts 1:8” church that is actively and intentionally on-mission with Jesus in our world. The people of the church are committed to taking care of each other, and we are committed to all of our many ongoing ministry projects that keep us, as a group, busily about our Father’s business outside the walls of the church building.
When you’re at the group gatherings of the church you can’t help but be caught-up in the joy and the enthusiasm of it all. It’s infectious.
It’s true – people need purpose. If you become part of a group of people who have a clear and meaningful purpose, you’ll quickly discover that you do too. There’s no room for empty, meaningless, quiet desperation in a setting like that.
As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:8-9, “We are God’s fellow workers.” That means that together we are actively engaged in His kingdom-building work here on earth. Nothing could be more meaningful than that!
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 