A Truth Shared
By Linda Germain
As I approach the looming gateway to the twilight of my years,
what I know for sure has been written on my heart with the
indelible ink of experience and dried with the soft wind of
wisdom that only blows after hard-learned lessons.
Every memory recalled and spouted is not necessarily an example
to share, but positive anecdotal evidence is a powerfully
convincing tool that lends credibility to a serious truth. Real
encouragement is more than a greeting card sentiment. I have
seen what it is, and I can tell you what it is not.
A famous frog has been known to sing about how difficult it is
being green. He should try being a human that's not so easy
either. If we are excruciatingly honest with ourselves, we will
admit the mystery of life is almost too profound for our finite
minds to even consider.
As we climb the age-mountain year after year, it is the rare
person who escapes battle with jagged rocks, dangerous enemies,
or ambushes too amazing to believe. Only when we pause on top of
the hill over which so many jokes are made can we look back at
how far we've come. The view from the summit offers priceless
insight. It is then we can contemplate what was genuine in this
life, and what was merely a sham.
Christians know that once we're born we never, ever die; our
spirits are ageless. We simply slip the boundaries of a body
that began depreciating as soon as we went the first mile.
Scripture promises we will each live for eternity in one of two
places. The fact that our Creator gives us free will is what
colors the dynamics of the race to our individual dates with
destiny.
That does not mean we are immune from life's arrows drawn from
the quiver of the human condition or darts dipped in the poison
of sin. I can tell you without a doubt, rain falls on the just
and the unjust, which means the likelihood that we will be
broad-sided somewhere along the journey to our final resting
place is pretty much 100%.
As part of the body of Christ, the Biblical mandate to encourage
our brothers and sisters is not only our duty and privilege but
has more teeth in its command for our obedience than a quick
promise to "pray about it" or a note with an admonition to
"simply trust God" or any number of sampler-sayings that may
hang on the wall in the kitchen.
Real, true support and encouragement in the body means to be the
arms and legs and voice and heart of Jesus. It means to sail
right along side our brother's sinking ship, or hold up the
aching arms of our exhausted sister, or get down on our knees in
the mud and intercede when the young or old have no voice or
ability.
More than cheerleading, even though there is a place for such,
is the reaching out with sympathy and empathy; of standing in
for those who can no longer stand up. When there's a death, it
means offering more than a nod in the direction of assistance.
It may mean scrubbing a family's house to accommodate a throng
of visitors. Sometimes, it means keeping our mouths shut and our
eyes and ears open.
Encouragement means giving that tired parent a break by staying
with a sick child or with an elderly dependent. It means
stopping when someone is hurt or lost or abandoned and not
thinking twice about interceding for them in prayer -- right
then. It means wrapping arms around the dirty or sickly or
drug-dazed, and offering hope, with food or a bath or a job, and
certainly offering a witness that they are loved beyond measure.
In the end, and we all will arrive at that place on this earth
at some point, from where I stand so far down the road from
where I began, if I've learned anything, it is this: stripped of
any fluff or inspirational music or meaningful poetry or prose
or applause, even though those are lovely and comforting
reminders that we have worth, the truest encouragement is in the
bearing of one another's burdens.
Once our compass points in that direction, our only prayer
should be: Who, Lord? Where, Lord? When?
___
I Thessalonians 3:1-3 (NLT)
and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God's
co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to
strengthen you, to encourage you in the faith, and to keep you
from being shaken by the troubles you were going through.
Linda is a current Book Reviewer for www.Faithwriters.com.
A former nurse with a degree in English, she is has been
involved in several writing and editing projects and served as
the Christian Humor Columnist for www.keepinon.net.
