| |
The radio was on and I heard Greg Laurie say, "Disneyland is much more fun when you go with a child." Living not far from the magical park and having had the delight of going to both Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, America’s first theme park, with the little people of my life, I was suddenly hearing the sounds of It’s a Small World accented by an occasional blast from an air horn on a mini-eighteen wheeler at Camp Snoopy, and remembering the cramped hips snuggled up against my grandson on the Charlie Brown Speedway. The taste of caramel corn tempted my senses and Winnie the Pooh, Minnie Mouse, and Sleeping Beauty were suddenly dancing in front of me. Okay, not really – but that’s what memories can do to you – memories that have been indelibly etched because they were enjoyed to their fullest with a child.
Greg had more to say, and I was listening. He paralleled the Disneyland experience with sharing Christianity with a young believer, and talked about the excitement that can evoke. He also talked about the personal benefits that are derived on a spiritual level when I give to others on a spiritual level. I was captivated by what he was saying because I knew I understood. Paul’s compulsion to share truth and the absolute joy and delight that he had in doing it confirm Greg’s words. Paul taught truth, he prayed for those he ministered to, and he entered into their needs. He encouraged, and brought understanding, and challenged when he needed to. He told the Philippians that he had them in his heart and longed for them with the affection of Jesus. Their joy completed his joy. Paul saw his experiences with God as fulfilling not only a purpose in his own life, but also in the lives of others. He continually expressed his gratitude to God for those he served. As he warmly told the Thessalonians, they were his hope, his joy, his crown of rejoicing. And it was not only the communities of churches that he ministered to. He touched the lives of individuals – men like Titus, Timothy, and Onesimus.
My deepest and most profound joy comes when I am privileged to share Christianity with a young believer. I am compelled like Paul because I am so aware of what God has done in my own life, but there is a freshness, a vitality, an eager grasping of truth that saturates walking with a young believer. That which I have held onto for years becomes for them the dawning of hope, the steps of understanding, the very breath of God that invigorates them. The joy is undescribable! I have tried to explain that to a young believer, and she will look at me with a very puzzled expression. But my prayer for her is that some day she too, will walk with another and get blessed! to the very core of her being.
|
|
