Silence

As most everyone knows I do HVAC service for a living. As I stand here next to this unit while it’s not running I marvel in the silence. There is no clicking, not whirring, literally no sound at all. There is silence because the unit isn’t working like it is supposed to. I start to think about life in general and how similar it is.

The silence when things aren’t working properly is not regular silence. It can be heavy, ominous, full of dread. But never is the silence empty, it is always filled with answers.

In everyday life think about that silence. When someone who loves you is silent it feels terrible. When someone you’re used to talking to a lot cuts off communication it causes you to ask questions but the silence always answers them. Whether the answer is right or wrong it is the answer you have, the one the silence has given you, and the one you take for the truth since that’s all you have to go on.

What if while bad things are happening, your life is collapsing around you, and the church is silent? When someone who claims to love you is silent, the silence tells you they don’t love you anymore. Is it any different for the church? When the church is silent does that mean that God doesn’t love you anymore? When someone who told you they loved you more is silent, the silence says the love was never real. When the church is silent does that mean God never loved us?

We as a people, as a church are called to love one another, as we love ourselves. We are called to be the hands and feet of God on this planet. We are not given the option to be silent when bad things happen. We are not allowed to sit back and watch things unfold while others struggle. We are to go out comfort, help, heal, and let them know that in their darkest times God has not forsaken them and neither have we. The Bible says to “be still and know that I am God” but it doesn’t say to be quiet.

Get out there and love someone because God loves you. I love you.