Gather

by Macy Johnson

“And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds,

from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”

(Mark 13:27 NIV)

January approached and I asked God what my word for the new year would be: Gather.

Merriam-Webster defines gather as “the most general term for bringing or coming together from a spread-out or scattered state. It often implies careful selection or orderly arrangement.”

When I hear the word gather I remember the first line of a well-known Thanksgiving hymn: We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing. Those words bring fond memories of Sunday mornings in childhood pews.

Seated at the breakfast table with my husband, I looked out the window and noticed several Canadian geese gathered on our lawn. Seldom do I see a lone goose flying over the lake. They fly in skeins or plumps. They gather in gaggles on the ground.

I asked my husband what the word gather brought to his mind. He replied, “The room above the carport occasionally calls me to gather long-forgotten items into some reasonable semblance of order.”

“He who is not with me is against me,

and he who does not gather with me, scatters.”

(Luke 11:23 NIV)

Throughout the year we will meet new people, experience new adventures, and walk on top of new waters. Jesus does not call us to stand still or alone. We either gather or scatter.

When we gather to worship our Lord, we touch the lives of those sitting next to us in the pew or choir loft. A little bit of heaven spills out when we sing, praise God, pray to our heavenly Father, and gather those around us into His love.

I will gather family and friends in thoughts and prayers to bring them to my Savior today. I hope you will, too!