"For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me."
John 17:8
Now that the nice weather is here, actually it is pretty nice all the time here, I have been sitting out on the boardwalk reading at lunch time. you may recall that I was sitting out by the tree at the edge of the flightline, still my favorite spot, but I stopped after my R&R as it is just too far to bring a chair now. The camp had changed a bit and my office is further away. Anyway, so now I have an Adirondack Chair that I have posistioned outside of the O&M Managers office that has become my lunchtime spot.
Now I generally pack a pipe, grab a drink and head off to sit for an hour in relatively quiet bliss as I read. Ocassionally the Camp Manager will pass by on the way to his office and make a comment about me Spiritually feeding my brain. He is also a Christian and I am usually reading something to bbuild my faith. I rotate around four books at lunch time, picking depending on my mood the one for the day. Sometime a light lunch and sometimes I like to pig out.
Today, it seemed to be one visitor after another for the first several minutes. The DCMA and LSO came out to do their pre lunch pull ups and push ups. Then the camp Manager came by on His way back from the gym. The O& M Manager came back to his office for a brief minute to get O&M 2 for lunch. So once it settled down, I was able to immerse, not really but it sounds good, in my new book, "Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die" by Piper.
About a paragraph into the first chapter, out of his office came the visiting regional Camp Manager, book in hand, sitting down next to me. Here is a man that is always very confident, be quiet in his approach, almost gentle. he is very knowledgeable in what he does and I would even say wise to a certain extent. Somone that I would personally like to work for if I had a chance.
Quickly glancing at the cover of his book I note that it is about finding inner consciensiousness (big word). Now I know what this is, and I know that it is not generally seen as Christian, so I ask, "What is your book about?" Now I am nervous becasue as I said, this man has always struck me as wise, and well thought out. I am even thinking that he is intellectually superior to me, seriously, I did because I knew where I was going and I was thinking I might get whooped! Good or bad, in I went with the question.
Back cam the answer that I anticipated, that the book was in fact about finding Inner Conscienseiousness. That he was raised Catholic, Catholic school through High School, Alter Boy etc, and he had fallen away from the church in college. He had for a long time did Transidental Meditation, and now was studing more of all faiths because he believed that Organized Religion had too many problems. The whole time he was speaking I was thinking, oh God, I jknow you will give me the words to speak, just let me find the correct path at this point.
Ironically enough, last nights small group spoke about trusting in our wittness. Now this is realitive to all stages of faith so I was thinking about this also as I tried to think of the next words. I started at what I beleived was the core of his searching, Organized Religion. This was one of my major arguments when I was fighting against Jesus Christ also. I could spend all day on how the Church and people failed in the Church. Of course anybody could because it is true!
My agreement with the problem of religion brought us to the distinction between faith and religion. Now realize that we have passed by religion, the congregational aspect of faith, and move to the personal part of faith which is our heart. This is where you can quickly lose people and I was afraid that he was going to run all over me here. In these cases I always keep my side of the conversation focussed on what my faith and experience is, people won't argue with you about what you beileve, generally.
So in speaking of faith, I was able to find a connection, thank you Lord, between Christianity and inner conscienciousness (This word is killing me today. Next time I find a Hindu!) that actually ties to my post from yesterday, the Holy Spirit. Very realivant and similar to his beliefs but easily represented by the Christian perspective. How are we lead? What is the leading? How do we react to it?
From here, we moved onto judgeing of others. Again, this is a staple of non Christian views when it comes to what is wrong with the church. It is also a very valid point, we Christians along with every other person in the world has a natural bent on judgement. Of course none of us can just leave this to God, and judgement again has a lot of factors associated directly to our beliefs in general. So back to my faith but this time as it relates to our true purpose as Christians, to be a light. To point those around us to their own face to face with Jesus and therefore allow the Holy Spirit to work on them not us. In essence, what I was attempting to do now, lead him to his own place of solice with the Lord.
The Bible states that we all have an inherant knowledge of God, in Romans. None can deny, truthfully the existance of something far bigger than themselves. So, be it as a parent, teacher, friend, collegue, accountability partner or spouse if you can bring the person, under their own free will to a place where they are confronted with their own conscience, their own voice from God, then you allow God to convict them, to judge them, then you will find true repentance in a soul. If I were have to said that Inner Cosciencness was just plain prideful, and placing oneself before God and therefore a sin, well this man may have been offended. But speaking of the Spirit, the Counselor of Jesus Christ then the man has to descide for himself where he stands.
So we meandered along this nice path for about a half hour. We spoke of many things and at no time did any of the conversation get "ugly". At no time did it become even bad. As a matter of fact it was very nice and in the end I though that it was jujst perfect. That is why I am writing of it. Now I did not bring him to a moment of Salvation, or of repentance, I did not even bring him to an understanding of Jesus Christ more then what he already had, but what I did do is water the soil. I wittnessed and glorified God in those moments that I had with Him. Not for me to determine quality only faithfullness to the call we are given in Matthew 28.
So at this he was ready to go to lunch and excused himself. He thanked me for the conversation and returned to his office. He never did open his book. I stood and returned to my room, and began to recount this story in my blog, which you read now.
Lord Jesus, thank you for the words that I was able to speak. Thank you that I was able to used by you and given the opportunity to wittness your Name and the name of the Holy Spirit. May this man, now lay and think of you, may your Spirit work in his heart and begin to lead him back to you Lord. thank you for confirmation of the strength found in the trust in your Word. In your precious name, Jesus. Amen.
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