Stirred

²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

--Hebrews 10:24-25 (English Standard version)

I was thinking on this verse today after hearing it in morning class. As a Texan, I like the NIV translation, substituting the word "spur" for "stir". To spur someone is to poke them with a sharp stick. Now that's just not nice. (Although in true Texan style, I freely admit that I commonly refer to the sensation-testing pinwheel I use in my clinic as a "spur".)

Nonetheless, I think I prefer "stir". When I am stirred, I am beyond words, emotionally moved to savor something resonant and beautiful. According to an online dictionary, to stir is also to rouse, as if from indifference, and prompt to action. (Wow one could blog all day on that one!)

On a more obvious note, stirring is something done to paint, coffee drinks, and farm-fresh milk. It restores homogeneity to a mix of ingredients. Therefore, to "stir" is to agitate and dig up that which has settled to the bottom, in order to recreate wholeness. However, unless the stirring continues, the mixture stagnates and separates.

Perhaps my joy is buried beneath the cream-top layer of life's busyness. My love for others sinks below the weight of judgment. I should fill my vessel with the wholeness that only God provides, skim off the excess, and get an regular stir to keep me whole. Fellowship with believers does that very thing for me. It stirs me up, empassions me, and digs me up from under what is covering the better part of me (thank you, Incubus). Paul speaks of this in verse 25 when he focuses on meeting together. We become more of the body of Christ when all the members of the body come together.

I had opportunity this weekend to be part of something much bigger than myself. Not surprisingly, it took place in the midst of that very fellowship. My little part, combined with the actions of so many others, was multiplied into something that truly reflects the glory of God. I was prompted and stirred to step out from inaction and serve. And it was indeed stirring.