When I met with John this last week we talked mainly about
Christian encouragement. As Christians, when we see someone else’s faith, how
they are seeking God, it can provide us encouragement. This also puts us into a
position where we can encourage that person by commenting on the work that God
is doing in their life. As Christians we often have a hard time seeing how God
is working in our own lives. We often seem to be making little progress towards
becoming more like Christ and that can discourage us. That is why it can be
very helpful for other believers whom we respect to speak into our lives as
they see things that we have missed. John showed me how in Paul’s letters, Paul
is constantly encouraging the believers that he writes to. He often refers to
them by name and commends them for their struggle in the name of the Gospel. We
can see how much this means to these Christian believers in books like Acts where
various churches will come to Paul from long distances and send him gifts and
aid. Paul also almost always includes a thanksgiving section where he always
thanks God for the work that he is doing in a particular body of believers.
This must have been a great source of encouragement for the believers. I know
this own dynamic has been true in my own life. Back home I know a kid who
recently came to Christ from a Muslim family. I have read the Bible a couple
times with him and answered his questions and I have been greatly encouraged by
his desire to learn more about God even though he knows so little. Sometimes,
especially at Wheaton, we can learn so much about the Bible that it no longer
touches us the way it used to. It was very refreshing to me to read the Bible
with my friend because seeing his faith, encouraged by own and reminded how
special God’s word really is. This same concept of encouragement can also serve
us well in business. Now, obviously, in most business contexts we will be
unable to encourage the faith of our coworkers and employees, but encouragement
can still go a long way in motivating employees and improving organizational
culture. As Christians we should always be encouragers, encouraging people to grow
more and more like Christ, and we can do this with fellow believers, but also
with our employees and coworkers.
Caleb, this is a great entry. Christian encouragement is something that I do not make a practice of. Often times I feel encouragement is so hard to give when my own faith and walk is not where I want it to be. I kind of feel hypocritical giving encouragement to other believers because of this. But this blog entry has shown me that through encouragement it can help my own faith and who am I to hold back encouragement when it comes to the growth of another believer in Christ. I think it is awesome that you are hearing scripture with your new friend. What a cool opportunity to be apart of his life, I imagine he is very thankful for the time you invest in his life, especially right now as he has made a life changing decision. You are a great source of encouragement for the wrestling team I know that much. A lot of us are yahoos and you always bring us back. Keep on brother.
ReplyDeleteCaleb,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to hear about your progressing relationship with your mentor. What he told you about being an encourager is such a great reminder. We should all strive to be a source of encouragement and joy for those around us, and also have a spirit of thankfulness because we are so blessed. I also agree with what you said about sometimes needing to read the Bible with a new perspective. Sometimes at Wheaton with the overload of spiritualism all the time the Bible can become almost trite. It's so necessary to hear other believers perspective on the word- especially someone who is removed from the "Wheaton Bubble".
Natalie