Two weeks ago something happened following the Sunday morning worship service that brought much encouragement to this weary pilgrim.Our guest speaker at Auburn Bible Chapel was a teacher at the Peoples Christian Academy in Toronto...the Christian school affiliated with The Peoples Church.
I enjoyed his ministry immensely as he incorporated a missions component, gave an expository message and captured my attention. Following the service I went to the front to let him know that God had used him to encourage me and to bless my heart. As we talked I told him that I had been on staff at The Peoples Church back in the late 80's and early 90's. Then he asked, "Are you the man who conducted the chapels for the Toronto Blue Jays?" I answered in the affirmative and his face lit up.
He recalled how he would come to my office (which was located in a big trailer behind the church) at recess and lunch time and I would give him baseball cards and talk about my work with the ballplayers. He had been a student at the school where he is presently teaching.
Before we parted that Sunday morning he left me with these words, "Thank you for your ministry to me when I was a kid at school!" As I drove home from church the Lord reminded me of the truth of Paul's encouraging words to the Galatian believers. "Be not weary in well doing, for in due time you will reap if you faint not." - Galatians 6:9.
We may not see the fruit of our ministry for years but God doesn't forget our labor of love. (Hebrews 6:10)
We've often heard the expression, "what goes around comes around". God used the one who I had blessed my years earlier to bring an encouraging word to me.
GOD IS GOOD AND HE IS FAITHFUL TO ACCOMPLISH THOSE THINGS HE HAS PROMISED TO DO!
Dear David...This is such a touching story.
ReplyDeleteIt kind of reminds me of the song on one of the Gaither tapes, called Thank-you for giving to me"..It is about an old man going to heaven and he had tears in his eyes because he thought that he had done nothing in his life worth anything for the Lord, and then people started coming out one after another and thanking him for sharing the gospel with them.
The one that touched me the most was a person thanking him for teaching him Sunday School..
And another really good one was a missionary thanking him for helping him out financially when he was out on the mission field workng for the Lord.
How encouraged you must have been this Sunday David, but please don't forget all of us that you have encouraged too with your blog site and I will tell you David, there are cetainly more than TWELVE of us too!!!...Love Terry