Good Morning Friends,
“Brothers, when we were torn away from you for
a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made
every effort to see you. We wanted to come to you -- certainly I, Paul, did,
again and again -- but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the
crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?
Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20)
Paul understood. People matter more than
anything, except God Himself. For Paul, there wasn’t anything in this world
that held him. He could live with money or live without it -- he had learned to
be content either way. Possessions didn’t matter to Paul. He had a few scrolls
that meant something to him, but what he possessed were just tools that he
could use in helping people. He didn’t have much comfort and found joy anyway.
Worldly fame wasn’t his goal, he learned the folly of living to please men. There
wasn’t anything in this world that held Paul -- except people.
He told the Philippians that helping people was
the only thing that gave purpose to his life. There was no reason to live
except to help people, because what was beyond death was so much better.
The importance of people is a hard lesson to
learn. Many things in this world clamor for our attention. Our yards need
maintenance, it’s important to keep our landscaping up to the standard of the
neighborhood. Our houses scream for attention -- paint here, dust there, sweep
another place, fix a leaking pipe, a thousand and one things that say they are
important. Our jobs, our hobbies, our cars, there are so many important things
in the world -- or so it seems. Often, too often, people and their needs have
to get in line behind all of those other important things.
Seems out of balance, doesn’t it? What is our
hope, our joy, our crown, our glory? People are -- and how God wants to use us
to touch their lives.
His, by Grace, Steve
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