Safe!

I've been hearing the word "safe" a lot lately. Watch any baseball game and the guy slides into home and the umpire shouts "Safe!" (or out, depending on whether the catcher catches the ball, tags the runner, and holds onto it). But I like the concept. Safe at home.
When King David went to war and things were going South (against his own son, Absalom, I might add) he warned his commanders to be gentle with his son. And, when not knowing when his son was killed, the message came back that his armies had been successful. David didn't care. He asked, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Twice he asked that before he found out he had been killed.
We've been talking a lot about being able to come to church (I know, I know, the church is the body) and being safe. It breaks my heart when I hear people say they don't feel safe enough. My goodness! The Scripture says we'll be known as His disciples if we love each other. James says that love covers a multitude of sins. The word in the Greek means, a large number, a bundle, a company, a multitude. When are we going to quit keeping score? When are we going cover each other's sins. I'm not talking about condoning, I'm not talking being co-dependent, I'm not talking being accomplices. I'm saying when people totally wreck their lives where are we? When are we going to take these in our arms in a non-judgmental way and say, I will be here for you always. I'll never leave you. (and in doing so emulating so much the way God feels about us and treats us?)
It is during these times that I wish we could hear in our assemblies, in our churches, "Safe at home." It would just be a little foreshadowing for when we hear our God say the same when we reach heaven. Have a great day. . .and be safe. JW