Say cheese!

by 0 Comments

I’ve never been a “photo” guy. I’m not against them, I’ve just never been one to either have many photos taken, or keep a lot of photos.

That really puts me out of sorts with today’s culture, which is picture crazy!

A lot of people choose the cell phone they will buy only after great consideration of the camera it has. That’s because people are snapping and sending photos constantly.

Here’s one of my breakfast …

This is what traffic is like getting to work …

This is my chair in my office …

This is what I’m having for lunch …

You know what I’m talking about. You’ve seen these photos all over Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. And your friends send them to your smartphone throughout the day.

People love pictures.

None more than my seven sisters.

It’s been a long time since our entire family has been together, but there have been several times where the majority of family have gathered. Some time during our visit, the sister hosting the gathering will disappear momentarily, only to reappear with an arm full of photo albums.

What follows is a couple hours of going through family photos. Because you can count on someone pulling out a photo album, other sisters usually bring some of their photos, and before you know it, pictures are being passed everywhere!

It’s not just photographs that are shared, it’s the stories that they spark as well. All the stories of our most cherished memories, or our biggest challenges, or greatest moments … or simple times when we were just together, and happy being so.

And we laugh.

There’s lots of laughter as we tell and retell our stories.

And in that moment, as we share those things we’ve experienced together, we’re as close as we’ve ever been. We’re reminded of what it is beyond biology that binds us together.

In those moments, we’re very much family

*****

Cameras and photographs didn’t exist when Jesus walked the earth. Nonetheless, He wanted to spark our memories when we, as God’s family, gather together. So He didn’t break out old family photo albums; instead He brought out some wine and some bread and painted a picture for us …

“For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people — an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it,’” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.

Jesus gave us a picture of the most poignant event in God’s “photo album”: His sacrifice that provided for our salvation and the opportunity to be adopted as God’s own children.

Every time we gather and partake of Communion, it’s a precious time when we’re reminded what it is that binds us together as family.

Now there’s a picture worth sharing.

Scotty

Tags:
About James Scott, Jr.

Dr. James Scott, Jr. is a minister, Christian clinical therapist, author, former church planter, and now serves as Founder & President of the Scott Free Clinic.