How very good and pleasant it is
when kindred live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
life forevermore. – Psalm 133
At Bayshore, we’re very proud of our family of faith that God’s been forming and sustaining for 90-plus years! We also love welcoming new members into the family “as if they were old friends.” Psalm 133 celebrates that kind of godly community and welcome. We can whole-heartedly agree with the psalmist that is indeed a very good and pleasing thing “when kindred live together in unity!” There is so much diversity in our Bayshore family, but we live, worship, and flourish in the unity that we all have in Christ!
Although I’ve only been a part of Bayshore for about 2 and a half years, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our history and future. On the one hand, we’ve experienced some very painful losses in recent months of pillars of our church. The passing of saints like Barb Tolbert, Jim Dillard, Tom Pinner, and Jim Strange (to name a few) have left us hurting and wondering how we’ll go on without them. Along with the pain and loss, though, has come exciting new life and growth. Our Easter services this past Sunday were amazingly Spirit-filled and represented the way that God is calling people to join Bayshore as we live into our identity in Christ.
I love the concluding phrase that the psalmist uses to describe the blessing that God has given to His community: “life forevermore.” As we reflect on the lives of those Bayshore saints who have passed from this life to the next, we understand that they have laid the foundation that we continue to build on today. Their devotion to making our church a “welcoming community of faith and action” lives on in all the good work that God is still doing at Bayshore. As Christians, we know that abundant life begins when choose to follow Christ, and we look forward to the unending days we’ll spend with all God’s people in the very presence of Jesus!
Nick