THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE

I am currently reading Not the Way It's Supposed to Be:  A Breviary of Sin, by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. I strongly suspect this book will make my If-you-only-read-one-book-this-year-make-it-this-book recommendation list.

Not the way it's supposed to be:  this expression strikes a chord with all of us. Broken relationships, sickness, death, racism, addiction, abuse, greed, religious persecution, discontent, political corruption... - who, in the midst of life in a sin-broken world, has not thought at some point, "This is not the way it's supposed to be!"

But that is not what I want to write about today.

"The world truly does meet in Mrs. Katherine's living room."

My son and several companions had traveled from out-of-town to attend a friend's wedding. A dear sister and brother in Christ offered lodging and hospitality for the young travelers.

As we talked on the phone the week after the wedding, my son related the events of the previous weekend. He told me about the incredible cultural and ethnic and racial diversity represented by those assembled for the wedding - very different people, gathered from around the globe, because of a shared love for the couple being married and because of their shared love for Christ and his family.

A carload of these diverse but united people slept under Katherine's roof, sat at her table, gathered for fellowship in her living room.

"The world truly does meet in Mrs. Katherine's living room" - a glimmer of the way life is supposed to be.