I returned home from Gaithersburg last night after a rather uneventful flight. Airport security was, thankfully, anticlimactic. It turns out that the airline we were flying, Air Canada, shares a terminal with only Air Iceland and British Airways. Neither of those airlines seemed to be awfully busy, so we had the terminal nearly to ourselves. There was no lineup at security and it seemed no different than usual. We weren’t even asked whether we were carrying liquids, though plenty of signs warned us against committing such an offense. As always, it is good to be home and to be back to my wife and children. I miss them terribly when I am away.
I hope in the coming days to offer some thoughts and reflections on the Conference. And truthfully, there is much to think about! My initial and general impression is almost uniformily favorable. Still, there were a few situations that stretched my beliefs and my understanding of other believers, so these will require some thought before I commit them to writing.
One element of attending conferences that amuses my little mind is the opportunity it provides to eavesdrop on the faith and spiritual expressions of other believers. Rarely am I privileged, as I was this week, to be in the presence of such a wide and diverse number of believers. For that reason I enjoyed watching the way other Christians worship, hearing how they read Scripture and listening to the way they prayed. With a thousand Christians gathered together, there are a thousand ways of praying to God and a thousand ways of expressing worship to God. I enjoyed hearing the way others prayed–some expressing themselves in simple ways with a childlike faith and others expressing themselves verbosely and with big words. But whether using many words or few, big words or small, it was wonderful to hear the expressions of hearts that love the Savior. In worship there are some who sing quietly and reflectively while others throw their hands in the air, sing the songs at the top of their lungs, and jump up and down. But as with prayer, the hearts may both be filled with a love for Jesus, though the expressions of that love may vary. It is always educational and challenging when I eavesdrop on the spiritual expressions of other Christians.
Enjoy the remaining hours of your Lord’s Day!
