Series: Flowers in the Desert
1 John 5:4-5 ESV
FAITH is an enigma.
It’s so very easy to understand and obtain.
But, it is also difficult to understand and obtain.
How can it be both?
I John 5:4-5, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Looking back over the course of my life, I’ve known a handful of people who played a role in challenging my faith.
As a child it was my dad. He challenged me to discover for myself the nature and character of God, how I interact with God, and how to make informed choices in life based on my interaction with God.
He also set the stage for my life choice of ministry. I do not believe he chose the path. Looking back, I see evidence that he sought God’s guidance to understand what God had for me. In other words, while he did not choose the path, he asked God to show me the path.
My dad was not a pastor. His college degree was in engineering.
The second person who challenged my faith was a man I met in my early twenties. I only spoke with him a handful of times, but each time we spoke he changed how I view how God communicates with His children.
He was a prophet. He told me past and future things revealed to him from God. I can’t explain how, but each time he spoke to me I knew it was a message from God. I felt different (in a good way) when he spoke to me.
Looking back, I now know it was he spoke thru and by the power of the Spirit of God.
He was a construction worker all his life. He finished the eighth grade before he went to work. His hands were calloused over and his body was rough because of years of laboring outside.
Listening to him talk about God and through God gave me a lifelong desire to listen to God.
The third person who influenced me was a woman. She was old enough to be my grandmother.
She had worked for the railroad all her life. We found common ground because I worked for the railroad in my early twenties.
She spoke to me about helping others. She was not judgmental. She simply told me and modeled her love and care for others in a practical way. She cared about the less fortunate in society and she became involved in their lives. She shared the love of Jesus by being the hands and feet of Jesus. She did not speak about loving others…she simple loved others.
She finished high school and she got married and went to work. She did not have biological children, but she loved and cared for various children throughout her life.
The fourth person who had an impact on me was a woman who was a college graduate. She was passionate about understanding and helping people and society to make the world a better place for all people.
While she was raised in an upper class home, she had a heart for the less fortunate. She fought fiercely for their rights to be educated and cared for in practical ways.
She grew up in the world of national politics but she did not let that change how she interacted with people. She saw and loved everyone. She sought to help those who wanted to learn how to make their lives better.
She loved Jesus but she did not speak directly to others about accepting Jesus. She had many friends who were part of different faiths. She loved everyone for who they are, not for what they believe or how they practice their faith. She was the first believer in Jesus I knew who loved Muslims, Buddhists, and people of other faiths. She didn’t just love people who were like her. She loved people.
The fifth person I think of was one of my grandmothers. She was (maybe) 5’ tall and she weighed 90 pounds most of her life. She worked from dawn to dusk but she never worked outside the home.
My grandfather was a railroad mechanic and he could be pretty gruff, especially with children. He was demanding. I was ever so slightly afraid of him.
The only person he really spoke with was my dad who was an engineer and during WWII he was in the Navy and he had been a mechanic on ship. They spoke “engine” language.
Now, grandma was a great cook and she was a quilter and she worked on her crochet in the evening. She spent the better part of the day in the kitchen or cleaning house.
What I remember about my grandmother was her quiet giggle. She was always happy. She giggled a lot.
She taught me a great lesson…regardless of your surroundings, no matter how bad it gets, laugh it off. Especially when it’s really bad, laugh.
As an adult I learned that laughter really is “the best medicine”. That’s because laughter releases endorphins which initiates a chain reaction of “good” throughout the human body.
So, laugh often. I laugh loud. I find a reason to laugh even when things look grim.
All five people who played a pivotal role in my faith journey remind me of I John 5:4-5…we are overcomers. Jesus stands with us and teaches us, often by sending someone to mentor us. So who are your mentors?
Today’s desert plant is the Pinyon Pine, simply because it made me laugh. It sure doesn’t LOOK like a plant. It looks like a carefully carved piece of art!
Spiritual Practice: Overcome
Name the people in your life who have taught you to overcome obstacles.
In God, Deborah
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