A Debt Not Paid

I owe a debt to a number of preachers.  Without any fanfare or anything that really called attention to the fact that it was happening, they started offering words to me that gave important direction at strategic moments in my life.  I remember one who told me as I went to an appointment after leaving another with my shirt tail on fire that I should settle into the small community where I was appointed and plan to stay.  Learning not to leave became a important lesson for ministry.  And at a very early moment in my ministry another man for whom I was working gave me my first preaching opportunities, but only after he sat in an empty sanctuary on Saturday night to hear the sermon I would be preaching the next morning. 

 

I hope that in some small measure I have repaid some of the debt by standing alongside of other preachers as these and so many others stood by me.  Often it is impossible to actually repay, or even say "thank you" to those helpers in our life, but one thing we can always intentionally do is to live with a helping and encouraging attitude as our paths cross the paths of others on the journey.  All of us, not just those are who preachers, have opportunities to live in such a way with others.  What one of us cannot name some folks who have taught us important lessons for our own spiritual journey?

 

We are all on this journey toward God together.  Some of us have been on the road longer than others.  Some of us should have it more together than we do.  Some of us seem to be wandering about like some lost soul.  We look around and we see some faces that are confused and some that appear to reflect glory.  Is there any greater calling than helping a sojourner take another step on the road toward home?  As I continue walking because of others on the road, I pray that some are staying steadfast because we shared the road together.