Upon returning to Lynchburg and starting my new job, I found out I was scheduled to speak for the Sunday night service at my church [yes, we have Sunday night services…]. I was excited but a little anxious as its been eight years since I have ministered with these people. I thought, prayed, and asked the staff what I should talk about. The answer was clear – share what God has done for me, what He has taught me while I was in Georgia.
I reworked a teaching I gave at West Ridge awhile ago about “Coming to the Table” of Christian fellowship. God uses the picture of eating meals together in scripture to talk about our relationships in His family. We are to do life together. This is one of the most significant lessons I have learned these past eight years.
So, I prepared and prayed. I let my group in Georgia know about my teaching opportunity so they could pray with me. A few days before the scheduled Sunday night, I received this email from one of the group, David Jensen:
Hey man! Just sitting here thinking of you… Tara and I have been talking about coming to see you this next weekend. We talked about coming up on Saturday and staying until Sunday to hear you “bring it” on your first Sunday preaching. We’re mostly looking forward to seeing you in a tie again!
And that’s exactly what they did. I must say I was deeply blessed. Gas prices are high, and Lynchburg is 490 miles from Paulding County GA. That’s a quick, costly weekend trip to make [with two smaller children], just to support me.
They came, and we had a great time looking around my new town. Sunday night came, and they were sitting right down front, praying me on. It was easy to teach about biblical community, about “loving one another”, with my friends sitting on the front row.
Chick-Fil-A offers “second mile service” for their customers. But the Jensens offered me “second mile friendship”. They could’ve prayed for me from the comfort of their own home that Sunday night, but they went the extra mile. Jesus taught us to “go the extra mile” to serve even our enemies [Matthew 5:41]. If we show that kindness to our enemies, how much more love should we show our spiritual family.
Thanks, David, Tara, Sam, and Faith, for going that second mile with me.
1 Comment
June 5, 2008 at 5:06 pm
You’ve walked MANY second (and third and fourth…
miles with us. It was our pleasure to support you for a change.
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