In the world of Facebook, you can “like” someone’s picture, update, status, or whatever.  The more people who click on your “like” button, the better you feel about yourself.  But what if we all had a literal “like” button?

What if you could just randomly walk through the room and hit people’s “like” button?  Think of what a Seneca Creek Sunday worship gathering may look like.  Hundreds of people walk in with the cares of the world on their shoulders.  They walk in knowing they’ve blown it this week.  They walk in wondering if the horrible things others have said about them are really true.  And then…they walk out with the full awareness that they are “liked” by those who know them…and even those who don’t!  They walk out encouraged!  I mean, seriously, who DOESN’T like to be liked?

What’s interesting is that Jesus’ instructions to his followers were to “love one another.”  And as Jean Vanier put it, “love reveals the beauty of another person to themselves.”  Do you remember the last time someone revealed something beautiful about you TO you?  I’m guessing that you remember it very well indeed.  You’ll probably never forget it, right?

If you think that gathering on Sunday is just about listening to me preach, or rockin’ with the music, you’ve missed a big part.  If you slide in after we start, and slip out before we finish, you’ve been robbed!  Part of the value of gathering together is to “reveal the beauty of others” to themselves.  It sounds like, “You know what I really appreciate about you…”  Our gatherings are about conversations that result in hitting someone’s “like” button.  That means yours.  And that means the other person’s.

Maybe the writer of Hebrews was thinking about Facebook when he wrote,

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Heb. 10:24

So this week, when you step into the facility at 13 Firstfield, see how many “like” buttons you can press before you leave.  And see if you don’t end up encouraged and ready to take on the week!

-Pastor Mark

P.S. There’s a “like” button at the bottom of this post…in case you were wondering. 🙂