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Building Bridges

 “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”
Philippians 3:17 NIV

Earl Johnson was an upright man who spent his career engineering buildings and bridges, taking care of his family, and going to church at every opportunity. He was also my grandpa and was a great example of someone who pursued Christ with every part of his life. Every Sunday that I can remember, he stood at the church doors in his suit, greeting people and welcoming them inside to hear about Christ (so he built spiritual bridges as well as literal ones). He was a Gideon who handed out Bibles, and when I was in college I would visit my grandparents’ house and he and I would have theological discussions at the dinner table. Throughout the time I was in graduate school, he would regularly write me letters of encouragement that helped me persevere, and to this day I keep his Bible on the shelf next to my desk with his copious notes in the margins on every topic.

One of the most influential experiences I had with him was when he was in his 90s and I went to visit him in his retirement community. I asked him how he was spending his time, and he discussed that he was still greeting at church every Sunday, and passing out Bibles, but he also shared that his neighbor upstairs had cancer and was an unbeliever, so he had been visiting him to share the gospel in hopes that the man could be saved. This struck me because I was a young woman with plenty of drive and energy, but I wasn’t spending my time doing anything as important as that! Even though he was 92, bringing new believers into God’s family was still crucial to my grandpa. This showed me that my whole life from start to finish should be a continuous walk with God and if my job here on earth is to make disciples, then I should be spending every last breath trying. At the end of my grandpa’s life he could say “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV).

I am a greeter at my church and every Sunday as I stand at the doors to welcome people inside to hear about Christ, I know that he built a bridge to the next generation with his example, and I am continuing to walk my path with Christ as Philippians 3:17 (NIV) instructs, to “join with others in following my example, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”

Who in your life is an example of someone who pursues Christ with every step?

What distinguishes your faith so that others might see you as an example?

Walking with Christ,

Erin Tabor

 

 

Photo Credit: My own photo

Look, He Blinked!

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

boys_pose_as_mannequinsOne day while I was at the mall, I watched a little girl try desperately but unsuccessfully to convince her family of something she’d seen. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen what she described to them, but that each time her family came around to checkout what she described, they saw nothing. She was so frustrated as her mother and siblings practically dragged her off down the mall. The little girl wasn’t making up a story; I’d witnessed the same thing she had. Two boys would come to the front of a store and position themselves in the display window, standing perfectly still, or posing, like mannequins. Many people didn’t see them or passed by without acknowledging them. When any passersby stopped to investigate, and noticed that they were indeed real people, they’d laugh victoriously and run back into the store, away from the window and out of sight. They repeated this little trick over and over, more elated with each surprised ‘victim’. They were children having fun at the expense of others. My daughter recognized that they were not really mannequins when one of the boys blinked. The little girl saw one of the boys blink also, and they were discovered, so they ran away. By the time the girl got her family to come back over to the store, the boys were gone. Her family never witnessed their mannequin imitations and subsequently didn’t believe her story.boys_in_storefront_window

Sometimes people have a hard time believing our stories when we tell them we are followers of Christ because we don’t really reflect Him very well. We don’t love others (especially our enemies). We don’t resist behavior that runs contrary to godly character. We only imitate the qualities of Christ that we are comfortable with and ignore the ones that will challenge us to be tested and grow in spiritual maturity. When challenged, we ‘blink’ and are discovered to be lacking in Christlikeness. Today’s Dose verse calls us to follow God’s example in everything that we do. God desires for us to be like Christ Jesus—to act like Him and think like Him. As difficult as it may seem to imitate Christ in all we do, we must remember that nothing is impossible with God. We can ask Him to intervene in our lives with His supernatural power. He’s waiting and willing to help us be transformed into Christlikeness.

Are you imitating Him in everything today, or are you poised to ‘blink’?

By grace through faith,

Rita