I was 18 years old when my friend invited me to a home Bible study, though it took months before I reluctantly agreed to go. I felt strangely out of place yet accepted at the same time. The love and kindness shown to me by those few families drew me back every week for a few months. Besides learning about God, I was learning a lot about life.
I accepted Christ as my savior at 19 years old on January 19, 1989. It changed my perspective on everything. I went from wandering aimlessly without any plan for the future, to actually caring. And I had a lot to learn! Besides spiritual things, I spent a lot of time with these families who had accepted me into their daily living. I saw healthier home lives and marriages modeled and picked up valuable life skills along the way.
Our ladies traveled out of state to a conference. In the bathroom of the church we visited I watched one of these ladies wash and dry her hands, then before throwing away her paper towel, wiped down the area around the sink that had been splashed with water. Who does that? Who cares about a place that’s not yours?
Eventually our little Bible study grew to having a Sunday morning service. We rented out a movie theater for services, other times we’d rent out auditoriums for concerts or conferences. The pastor would always say to us, “Let’s leave it better than we found it.” Often that movie theater had remnants from patrons the night before, and who wants to pick up sticky popcorn, candy, and soda trash?
What he was teaching us through that statement and the action which followed, and the lady in the restroom, was what I learned about demonstrating my faith through my actions and attitudes. I learned how to live life as a follower of Christ! What I do and who I am even when no one else is looking is much more meaningful than what the world says to do: look out for yourself.
I’m so grateful to God for immersing me in an environment that taught me what I needed to know, not just for my walk of faith, but for my life!
Leaving things better than you found them means people, too. I hope the world will be a better place just for my having been here. That’s all I can do to offer something back to the God Who has given me so much!
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45
Comentarios