Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Going Deeper


“In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.”  (II Corinthians 7:13b-14 NIV)

There have been many times where I have felt like Titus—refreshed in spirit by spending time with Christian brothers and sisters.  I remember a prayer gathering in a rural Hungarian village, Christians praying in different languages, but united in a common bond.  I remember visiting in the Tennessee home of a former seminary classmate and his wife, having a delicious meal of homemade soup and bread and then talking for several hours in front of a fire about the Lord.  I remember semi-annual meetings at Denny’s with two colleagues to share about our mutual ministries and to encourage one another.  And I remember just recently sitting with friends and listening to how the Lord is changing the direction of their lives into a new area of ministry.  

And what I remember about these encounters and many, many others is how refreshing they were.  Not all our meetings with other Christians are necessarily refreshing.  Many, frankly, are often mundane with little spiritual encouragement resulting from them.  Often that cannot be avoided, but I think in many of our encounters with Christians we can strive for something better, deeper.  

It is easy to skip along the surface in our relationships with other believers.  Our conversations gravitate toward school, work, relationships, and the like.  There is obviously nothing wrong with these because they are part of our daily experience, but there is so much more if only we are willing to go deeper.  And it is at the deeper levels where we find true refreshment.  That is why they stick in our memories and we remember them so fondly.  

Today, make strides toward taking your conversations with fellow Christians deeper.  As you do, you will find greater refreshment and experience Christian fellowship at a whole new level.

© Jim Musser 2012

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