Cherishing People Like Rocks

When I was in kindergarten, my family took a trip from our home in Missouri to Mount Rushmore (a popular destination in the Midwest). Aside from my dad driving the wrong way home (he realized it when I read aloud the sign, "Welcome to Wyoming"), the most memorable part of that trip was a little bag of rocks I picked up at a gift shop somewhere in South Dakota.

If you're into rock collecting, you know the types of rocks I'm talking about. Topaz, rose, turquoise, and emerald stones, all smoothed over and shined up, neatly packed into one of those little velvet drawstring bags. I thought it was so cool to have such unique-looking rocks. As a six-year-old, it was surely my most prized possession.

And what do you do with prized possessions when you're in kindergarten? You bring them to show-and-tell day, of course. When that day arrived for me, I was excited to share with my classmates this amazing new collection I acquired and explain how I picked them up in a far away land, where the deer and the antelope play.

But it wasn't long until tragedy struck. By the end of the day I realized the rocks were gone. They weren't in my bookbag. They weren't in my desk. The teacher hadn't seen them. They were gone. And in the days and weeks ahead, they remained lost. In fact, I never saw those rocks again. Presumably, they were taken by a classmate; however, there's a distinct possibility that the rocks are sitting on a shelf in the rumpus room of a retired janitor in central Missouri.

As you can imagine, six-year-old Jeremy was devastated. I was distraught. I was crestfallen. But, as you can also imagine, I bounced back quickly. Yet I've never forgotten. They weren't just rocks--they were my most prized possession.

Why did I start this story?

We are called to cherish the fellowship of God's people. As an extension of our Lord Jesus Christ, the body of Christ must be prized by us. We must see the people, not just as people, but as our precious, eternal family. They are brothers and sisters in the Lord who will abide with us as we abide with our Creator for eternity.

Thus, when we miss out on fellowship, it should pain us. Losing one of our most prized possessions is supposed to hurt (that's why removal from fellowship is the height of church discipline). The needs, cares, and concerns of God's people should be on our minds throughout each day. Being with them should be a priority week-in and week-out. Experiencing the love and unity we have together is to be to us as precious as gold and silver.

So let's cherish each other as a little boy cherishes gift shop rocks.