| 1 Corinthians 3:4 – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.” |
What kind of person are you?
I can give you a test.
You go on vacation and as you travel, you see a sign that says, “zip-lining” next exit. Now, you know that zip-lining is flying across a canyon or ravine held by nothing more than a harness made by the lowest bidder.
Do you take that exit or keep going?
We find ourselves in situations with less danger but still needing to decide.
Do you move to a new town?
Do you change jobs or not?
Do you retire now or wait until later?
None are easy. But most require something important.
Thomas Jefferson traveled across the open country on horseback while he was president.
He came to a flooded river that had washed out the bridge. The riders who assembled on the bank were forced to ford the currents to get to the other side.
Jefferson and his party surveyed the situation with great care.
One man was watching from a distance and came up to Jefferson’s party. He tapped Jefferson’s boot and asked, “Can I have a ride across the river?” Jefferson told the man to climb onto the back of his horse and they made it to the other side.
On the other side, the stranger slid off and one of the men stared at him. “Why on earth would you ask the president of the United States for a ride across the river. You should have asked one of us.”
The man who had just received the ride was astonished. “I had no idea he was the president of the United States. All I knew is that written upon some of your faces was the word ‘no’ but written across his face was the word ‘yes.’
In Mark 6, Jesus encounters a crowd who is hungry. They brought little or no food.
His disciples had a practical answer–send them away and let them get something to eat and come back if they choose.
Jesus had a different word written across his face. “You give them something to eat.” This impossibility landed in the lap of the disciples.
But with nothing but five barley loaves around the size of baseball, and two fish hardly larger than sardines, 5000 were fed to the full.
When we talk about faith, what word is written across our face? Do people see “no” or “yes?” They want to see the person they can ride across the river with.
Is that you?
–Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
