Gathering in Anticipation
“Bright Hope for Tomorrow” — Chapter 8 Reflection
“Are we there yet?!”
“Are we there yet?!” … “Ugh… when are we going to get there?!”... Do these questions sound familiar? Just imagine those little toddler legs jamming into your back from the seat behind you with a force that is shockingly strong as screams erupt from the back seat. Close your eyes and think back to that time when a shower of goldfish crackers sprayed across the car as the children fought in that small confined vehicle… Yup, you are on a family road trip. And while the tired cliche resounds in your mind that the journey is more important than the destination you think, “I can’t wait to finally get to where we are going and get out of this God-forsaken car!”
The journey to our final destination can be difficult at times, so we need to have some structure to help us along the way. Or as Chris Davis put it in the introduction to this section of the book, “If you think of our journey from here to Jesus’ return as a road trip, [the rhythms of gathering, fasting, and resting] are like both guardrails to keep us on the road and road signs to point us ahead” (pg. 114). Chapter seven focuses on the first of these rhythms of anticipation: gather.
Alone in a Crowded Room
It is truly crucial for believers to gather with God’s people as a means of being well-prepared, supported, and excited for the coming of the Day of the Lord. You may not know this about me, but I have never lived alone. I was raised in a big family of 5 children with parents and eventual step-parents until I shipped out for training in the army where I bunked with 60 strangers from around the country, before I moved in with four friends in a 2-bedroom apartment. Soon after that, I met my wife and within a year we were married and living together. I have always been ‘gathered’ around people, many of whom I have loved dearly as friends and family, and yet for much of my early life I felt terribly lonely. It was not until I experienced the supernatural community of the body of Christ that I felt what true, lasting–even eternal–belonging felt like. The gathered people of God is a tangible depiction of the glorious future congregation of the saints that we glimpse in Revelation 7:9-10:
“...and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Four Functions of Gathering
As Davis points out, “The very act of meeting together has an end-times focus” (pg. 116). The gathering, he highlights, offers us four ways to help us increase our love for Jesus’ return. When we gather as a people we:
Hear the promises of GodDeliver encouragement to one anotherProvide much needed discipline to each otherParticipate in The Lord’s Supper.
When the children of God assemble for worship we anticipate Christ’s return when we reflect on the promises in the scriptures through solid bible teaching. We encourage and challenge one another through prayer, affirmation, and at times discipline as we guide each other to better follow in the footsteps of Christ. And finally, as we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we are both looking back on the cross and forward to that great feast in heaven when Christ will join us again at the table (Matt. 26:29; Rev. 19:9).
The gathering of God’s people is that important road sign that points us to a heavenly future. So, as we jostle along the highway on a bumpy road trip to be with our everlasting family, take heart. Grab some goldfish crackers, buckle your seatbelt, and join us on the journey!
