From One to Another with Love

Do you remember how it used to be, when you were a child, and you had made something that you were happy with? What did you do? You wanted to show it to your parents, or grandparents, the adults that meant the most to you in life. And what did they say in response?

They made an appreciative fuss about it. And more than that, they praised you.

Do you understand that is exactly what God does, when, as one of Jesus disciples, you do some thing along the lines of Jesus Christ? It may be big and may be small. Like a child’s drawing, it might be what art critics would say is inexpert, coloring outside the lines, maybe. But that doesn’t matter to God. God loves you. And in praising what you’ve done, God is also communicating love. And encouragement.

What would we do without encouragement in our lives? I think we would wither in our spirit and in our mind and in our psyche. And in a short amount of time, we wouldn’t put forth any effort to do anything whatsoever. Because we would say to ourselves that it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t make a difference.

But with encouragement, we go do likewise, and then some. We grow, we progress in our abilities, we try new things, all because we want to be mature disciples in Jesus Christ.

I follow an artist online whom you may know. He has become famous for sketching people on the subway in New York City. Every now and then, he will post a series of his drawings going back to when he was young, as a reminder, how far he’s come. The earliest drawings are like our first drawings as children, but the later drawings have such photographic realism and soul to them, that we know we are dealing with an extremely proficient and gifted artist. 

Would we like to become extremely gifted and proficient disciples? We can. But we should never be discouraged. And in all matters, we will strive to do what’s good and right, and worthy of praise. 

One of the central concepts of Christian faith comes from Galatians. It is that line that says carry one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2). The literal concept of a burden is something that’s heavy and hard to carry. But while it might be hard for us to carry, there will be another Christian, who can take it on and carry it for us for part of the way. These burdens tend to be things like poor health, or a sense of being overwhelmed by problems, things that we just can’t find our way through. But as the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, when someone else bears our burdens, it helps tremendously and encourages us to keep moving forward. And so, we should also be ready to bear others burdens. 

If you consider a group of faithful people that you know and admire, one or two, or perhaps more, you can see them doing both, at various points along the journey of life. That is praiseworthy and totally in keeping with scripture. They probably don’t draw attention to the fact they’re doing it, and they probably do it mostly quietly. But you can be sure that God is aware, and like our childhood drawings, God sees much to praise, both in the actions themselves and in the ones who are doing them. 

I hope these thoughts will help you move through a week in such a way that you feel willing to try, willing to accept someone else offering to carry something for you, and always ready to bring to God what you have, knowing that you will receive a response of love from the source of all grace

Have a great day.