1Thessalonians 2:10-12 You are witnesses, and God also, how
holy and righteous and blameless was our behavior to you believers; for you
know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and
encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into
his own kingdom and glory.
I was talking a lot this past week with someone who
did not know the places and communities where I both found God and served God.
In order to share my history, I had to remember and in some ways relive my
history. I remembered all the people who had lived in my home with Marsha and I
and our family. I remembered the roles God gave me in the church and other
faith communities as I hope I exhorted and encouraged people to live a
Christian life worthy of God. It is amazing what a walk down memory lane can do
for you in putting your life in perspective. The time with the person who heard
about my life for the first time was special for them, for us and for me. God
was pressing in on us as I shared my history and listened to theirs. We could
see God’s hand woven onto our lives and treasure the ways God had been
abundantly present to each of us. Those moments are so powerful when we see the
hand of God in the midst of us. Those moments really are the best times of exhortation and
encouragement. I can remember a number of times when I was asked in one setting
or another to create the time line of my life with key events and activities. I
was always amazed at what I saw or found out when I looked at my history. As a
Christian I could never ignore the presence of God right smack dab in the
middle of my life. It is impressive when I see that I indeed have exhorted
others and encouraged others in their faith journey, but even more spectacular
when I see that they were exhorting and encouraging me at the very same time. We all have those revelations of the risen Lord through the Godly relationships
that constitute our lives as the body of Christ.
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