Elevation Worship

Hey guys, it’s Reggi sharing my weekly update and thoughts. A year and a half into my marriage I made the decision to take this internship at Elevation Church. The main reason this is a challenge is that my wife still lives in Louisville, KY. (OK, technically Indiana- but who has ever heard of Floyd’s Knob’s?) What that means is I spend weeks at a time away from my wife. I hate it. This is stretching me- but I’m learning.

I am learning more about communication than I thought I needed to know. I am learning the value of encouragement, even from a distance. I am learning more about commitment, and seeing love grow in the midst of a difficult season. But one of the coolest things I have learned is a practical application of particular scripture I have never understood.

A few weeks ago at my Egroup, (small group), we were tracking through 1 Corinthians. We happened upon a passage in the 7th chapter where Paul is talking about marriage. He said some things that have always left me wondering- ‘what is he talking about’? He recommends that nobody marry, in one portion. He also says that married men should act as if they don’t have a wife! (1 Cor. 7. 29) This is a scripture that I never thought that I would understand. However, when we reviewed that scripture I was able to view it through the lens of my current season- a season geographically separated from my wife.

I have been encouraged to know that I didn’t let my marriage interrupt me from a great opportunity that the Lord placed in front of me. In the natural, it makes no since for me to leave her 8 hours away. But even though I didn’t know I comprehended this scripture, the Spirit led me to still live out of it’s principle. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14.

This is another scripture I have never quite figured out. However, on this side of the situation I am able to see how my love for Christ was the driving force in my decision making process- more than my love for any of the relationships in my life. The promise to us as we make decisions to honor God above all else is found in Matthew chapter 19, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

I understand that not everyone reading this will be in a season that calls them away from their spouse or family for a prolonged period of time. But the commands are clear, and the challenge is stern. So the question becomes, in what ways are you revealing that Christ is your motivation? Not money. Not family. Not external relationships or pursuit of promotion. If Christ is not the driving force behind your life of service, then it is possible you aren’t really serving Him.