The Impact of Life on Life

Yesterday was an awsome day of celebration for me.  Most significantly, it was a day that Teri and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary.  Teri has been the love of my life for close to 25 years now- for more than half my life she has been at my side- it is hard for me to imagine what life was like before I met her.   Teri has been my best friend, my lover, my steadfast supporter, and prayer partner for all of these years.  How wonderful to celebrate the blessing God has given us in our marriage! 

It was also a day that I baptized one of my high school buddies for whom I have been praying for close to thirty five years.  I don't have space to blog about the significance of my "old" friend coming to Christ and being baptized yesterday- suffice it to say that one should never give up praying for a friend who needs to know the Lord.  The gospel teaches us that God's love for us is tenacious and long suffering and that He doggedly pursues us.  That point was never more poignantly brought home to me than when I baptized Rick.  

Finally, it was a day of tremendous worship for our church family as we celebrated how our faith is passed down from generation to generation.   What made the worship meaningful to me was that we focused on that element of discipleship within the church that is universally understood but rarely celebrated- the incredible impact of "life on life". 

What I mean is this - I believe all of us as believers know intuitively both the WHY and WAY of spiritual growth.  We know that it is the instruction of His word and the guidance of His Holy Spirit that is the WHY of growth.  And we know that it is because we have relationships with other Christians who know the word and live the word in front of us that is the WAY of growth.

But because the dynamics of that growth are so intuitive and understood, they are easy to take for granted and therefore overlook.  What made yesterday's worship so special was that we took the time to purposefully celebrate that dynamic.  It is Biblical community, life on life, and the dedicated influence of Christian love and grace that is most impactful in discipleship.  It is how we grow, how we serve, and how God uses us in each others lives.

And for families, it is how children are raised within the dynamic context of Biblical community.  God wants us to live life together in this way so that we both receive His instruction AND we live out His word in way that exponentially increases the impact of what we hear. 

This is why the Bible says in Hebrews 10:23-25:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.