“Several times,” Stan began, “I have mentioned the fellow who was my spiritual mentor after I first became a Christian.”
Continuing, he said, “I have always been very thankful for him. He has been a role model in my wanting to help others. This morning in my journaling time in the apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica I was reminded of my mentor’s guiding light.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Not stopping at conversion,” Stan replied.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s just like the station master told you when you first got your ticket to glory,” Stan replied. [Note to reader: See Posting Number 1, “Waiting For The Train.”] “The ticket is good for a ride to Glory, but it is so much more than that.”
Continuing, he said, “The apostle Paul said that he and his companions not only presented the gospel to the church, they also gave themselves so that the church would move on from conversion to transformation. My spiritual mentor did the same thing. And I am to do the same thing.”
“And am I?” I asked.
“Yes,” Stan replied. “I think that it is the responsibility of each believer to pour out for others what God has poured in. It is my responsibility to help others by being a conduit through which God can pour into the lives of others what He has poured into me.”
Continuing, he said, “The apostle Paul described it as ‘imparting their own lives’. I like to see it as my responsibility to impart before I depart.”
“If I don’t,” Stan concluded, “I won’t miss the train, but I will have missed the mark of what God has for me to do on this side of eternity before my time here is done. Don’t want to do that!”
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Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives. 1 Thessalonians 2:8.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the truth of the gospel, the truth of Christ’s finished work on the cross that opened the way for me to be with you in eternity when it is time. Thank you also for the truth that you want me to pour out into the lives of others not only the truth of the gospel, but what it means for the process of transformation on this side of eternity. I confess that too often I do not open myself to be the conduit you intend into other lives. Please forgive me. And please lead and help me to follow in truly imparting into others what you have for me to do before it is time for me to depart. Thank you I can and do brings these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Waiting for the Train 