Lynn Jones: Evidence of our encounters with God
By Lynn Jones
We sometimes have high experiences with God on Sunday, but on the other days of the week we don’t give much evidence of that. One person said, “It’s not how high you jump that gives evidence of a genuine encounter with God. It’s how straight you walk when you hit the ground.”
We often are like Peter, James, and John, the three disciples of Jesus who were part of His inner circle. They went to the top of the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus where they had the moving experience of witnessing His transfiguration. The experience was so powerful that Peter suggested that they ought to withdraw from the world and stay there. Jesus would have nothing to do with that. Instead, He urged them back down the mountain where they encountered overwhelming human need. They didn’t know what to do about this need. They failed to translate the high moment of encounter with God into new ways of ministry and service.
They are not the only ones to do so. Theories about God are easier to hold than to walk in new ways of living. One somewhat cynical observer noted that many students who are fervent about campaigning for a cleaner environment have not yet figured out how to clean their rooms. It is often more appealing to try to change the world than to try to change ourselves and the places where we live.
I am grateful, however, for some who make the transition from one to the other. In the early days of the Ford Motor Company, a factory employe in Detroit was saved and baptized. A few days after his conversion, he brought back to his plant a pickup load of tools that he had walked off with over the past ten years.
The man’s supervisors sent a memo to Henry Ford about this incident. He pointed out that three days after the employee was baptized, he brought back all the tools. Henry Ford was so impressed that he sent a return memo that said, “Dam up the Detroit River and baptize every employee in the factory.”
I believe that a genuine encounter with Christ will make a difference in how we live. It will make a difference in our homes and in the places where we work. It will affect our sense of integrity and our practice of honesty.
Genuine encounters with God make us aware of our responsibilities to God in every area of life. God instructs us in one of the Ten Commandments to “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” One dedicated Christian said that he tried to follow that commandment, but he also tried to remember the weekday to keep it holy. The fact of the matter is that we are to keep all of life holy. Life service, not lip service, gives evidence of a genuine encounter with God.
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
