Yesterday I went to a wonderful workshop for math teachers. Some of you may be wondering how a math workshop can be wonderful….mind boggling isn’t it? The topic was “Proportional Reasoning Across the TEKS,” so that wasn’t it. I missed my students, so that wasn’t it. I did eat quite a tasty meal at Chili’s, but that wasn’t it either. The reason that the workshop was so good was that I got to see a friend of mine. She’s the kind of friend that I would like to be. She asks how I am, and then waits to see how I really am. She affirms me not only as a person, but also as a teacher. I know that it may surprise some of you, but some days the teaching profession (as with most other professions that I know of) can be rather thankless. Yes, it surprises me, too, when Little Johnny doesn’t jump up and down for joy because I’ve taken the time to explain the Pythagorean Theorem to him. For some reason, that doesn’t seem to be worthy of a standing ovation. Hmmm….
All joking aside, we all need to be validated. There is a rather neat activity going through some of my Facebook friends’ pages right now. It is where all of your friends can share with the world one word that describes you to them. Finding out that others consider you to be caring, Christian, sister, funny, a blessing is enough to give me warm fuzzies for a week. Isn’t that what being part of the body of Christ is about? No, not the warm fuzzy feelings, but about building each other up?
Paul told his churches at least nine times in his letters that he thanked God for them. He went on to tell them exactly what they were doing that he was thankful for, too. He wasn’t vague; he was specific. For example: I thank my God through Jesus for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. (Romans 1:7) I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way–in all your speaking and in all your knowledge–because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. (I Corinthians 1:4-6) I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. (Philemon 4)
Another first century Christian was described in Acts 4:36 in this manner: Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement)… The first thing that we know about Barnabas, the man who would one day journey with Paul, is that his name was Joseph, but the apostles called him “Son of Encouragement.” I’m relatively sure that they didn’t call him that, because he was a grumpy gus or always doling out put downs. Wouldn’t it be incredible for all of eternity to be known as an encourager?
If we’re going to live a life of praise, I fully believe that we need to be encouraging and uplifting those around us. Through our encouragement and uplifting spirits, the body of Christ is encouraged and uplifted….God’s ultimate creation, our fellow men and women, are lifted higher than maybe they thought they could go. I am truly blessed for several reasons, one of which is that I was born into the family to which I belong. I was surrounded by aunts and uncles who believed in me…who held me accountable…who loved me…without whom I doubt that I would be the same person who I am today. They took the time to bless me and help my parents mold me into the person I was going to be…who I am now. We all need those people in our lives…be they teachers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, ministers, whomever…but (!) we also need to be those people to whomever God puts in our paths. When I am blessed enough to spend time with my family, I feel better after it’s over than I did going in. That’s who we need to be. When people leave us, they need to feel better about who they are than they did before the encounter.
That’s not to say that we just lie to them or act fake with them so they’ll feel better about who they are. We still have to be genuine and do the things God has called us to do. I’m betting that David didn’t feel better after he was visited by Nathan in II Samuel 12, but he did receive what Nathan had to tell him. If we’re being called to be Nathan to someone, then we have that job to do, but we can still do it in love. Because of Nathan’s message to David, David was forced to confront his sin with Bathsheba…ultimately restoring his relationship with God.
So, Dear Friend, I leave you with this thought. Who is it in your path that you need to uplift and encourage today? Or are you the one who needs to be encouraged and uplifted? No matter which category you find yourself in today, I would like to pray for you as we close our time together.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for these friends. I ask You to bless them as they go about the rest of their days. Let them know what a treasure they are to You. Bless all of the situations that they are in. Show them Your love, Your peace and Your truth right now, Lord. May Your grace be upon them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
