admin
03-30-2008, 10:30 PM
THE RICHEST PEOPLE
I don't know about you, but I think I am one of the richest people I know! No, I'm not talking about money, but about being rich in friends and relationships! How we value things really says a lot about us and if we have friends, we are rich in ways some folks will just never understand.
What is it you value? What is most important to you? Remember that Jesus said, "Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also". I have a picture of two old cowboys setting at a campfire sharing a cup of coffee and talking. I look at that picture and see friendship. Rebecca Falls said, "One of the most valuable things we can do for one another and heal broken lives is to listen to each other's stories."
Do you hear the power in that message? I love to visit with people and learn their history, to hear about their lives. I want to know more than just a name; I want to know the person. People all around you are hurting, perhaps alone with no one they feel cares.
I wrote a book last year called, "Everybody needs a Tonto," which deals with the fact that each and every one of us needs someone we feel cares about us. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2, "Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ," (NLT). The word translated as "share" or "bear" in the original Greek language, has this meaning: "to take up in order to carry or bear, to put upon one’s self (something) to be carried" (Strong's Exhaustive Greek Dictionary).
Do you remember the old song, "He's not heavy, he's my brother"? That verse by Paul literally presents the concept of helping to lift the burden of someone's life and helping them carry it. It's not a burden to you, because you are taking their burden because of love. It's not heavy, because they are your sister or brother. That's one of the blessings of being in the family of Christ!
You may not feel that you have many talents or much to offer the world, but if you can listen to the stories of others and offer words of encouragement, then you are doing what Paul said to do in the verse, "obeying the law of Christ".
How about sharing a listening ear with someone who has a burden? Don't try to share your story, just listen to their story. You will lift their hearts and at the same time fill your own!
May our God Bless you with someone to listen to and some to listen to you!
Russ Lawson
I don't know about you, but I think I am one of the richest people I know! No, I'm not talking about money, but about being rich in friends and relationships! How we value things really says a lot about us and if we have friends, we are rich in ways some folks will just never understand.
What is it you value? What is most important to you? Remember that Jesus said, "Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also". I have a picture of two old cowboys setting at a campfire sharing a cup of coffee and talking. I look at that picture and see friendship. Rebecca Falls said, "One of the most valuable things we can do for one another and heal broken lives is to listen to each other's stories."
Do you hear the power in that message? I love to visit with people and learn their history, to hear about their lives. I want to know more than just a name; I want to know the person. People all around you are hurting, perhaps alone with no one they feel cares.
I wrote a book last year called, "Everybody needs a Tonto," which deals with the fact that each and every one of us needs someone we feel cares about us. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2, "Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ," (NLT). The word translated as "share" or "bear" in the original Greek language, has this meaning: "to take up in order to carry or bear, to put upon one’s self (something) to be carried" (Strong's Exhaustive Greek Dictionary).
Do you remember the old song, "He's not heavy, he's my brother"? That verse by Paul literally presents the concept of helping to lift the burden of someone's life and helping them carry it. It's not a burden to you, because you are taking their burden because of love. It's not heavy, because they are your sister or brother. That's one of the blessings of being in the family of Christ!
You may not feel that you have many talents or much to offer the world, but if you can listen to the stories of others and offer words of encouragement, then you are doing what Paul said to do in the verse, "obeying the law of Christ".
How about sharing a listening ear with someone who has a burden? Don't try to share your story, just listen to their story. You will lift their hearts and at the same time fill your own!
May our God Bless you with someone to listen to and some to listen to you!
Russ Lawson