We are called to encourage each other

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When someone stumbled, weak and tired, your words encouraged him to stand." Job4:4

     

What sets us apart from the rest of the world is that we are called to encourage one another. In our Adult Sunday school class I used an illustration about suffering. I said that when we suffer it is as though we are being made more tender by God. Since it is outdoor bar-b-cue weather I shared how to get the maximum flavor out of our steaks that I will beat the steak with a wooden hammer like device and then allow it to soak in the tenderizing sauce. It takes a while, but the end result is you have meat that has the maximum flavor for the pallet.

 God allows our suffering so we can be 'like Him' and instead of looking at the world through selfish, 'I am god' glasses we begin to see the needs of our common man around us. Instead of blindly looking away from needs we are sensitize to look for those needs.After this tenderizing process brought about by our own suffering we see the needs of man kind much more clearly.

We live in an age that many might describe as ' dog eat dog' world where the aim is to play a game of always finding a way of being on top. The problem with this game is how it justifies in our mind the need to 'destroy' our friends for the sake of making us 'little god's'. We become narcissistic in our view of life and people suffer because of that view. Following Christ set's us apart from that narcissistic, selfish, stinking view of life because it allows us to see people as God would see them which are a people with deep, hurting needs.

As Christians we are called to practice the art of encouraging one another (Galatians 6:2) In that verse it is written."carry each other's heavy loads. If you do, you will give the law of Christ its full meaning." Separate from Christ we are doing the opposite and is it any wonder why we are having war's or hearing rumors of wars? Is it any wonder why people are being devalued and destroyed? Being a Christian set's us apart from this worldly, godless thinking and the tenderizing process we go through in our own suffering results in us becoming more caring, more loving, and better at encouraging one another. Now that is something that is pleasing to God!