As many of you know my dad passed away recently. He was a man who lived over 81 years and drove a truck until the truck company he drove for closed at the end of this past February. He had lived a long, healthy life, but for the last 3 months, he struggled as his health failed and he passed away due to cancer. I want to thank all of you who have called, sent text messages, emails, sent cards, and have prayed for me and my family over the last few months. As good of a man that my dad was, I believe he only came to know Christ in his final days. I am thankful for the hope I have in Jesus that I will see him again one day. This gift of God’s grace has given me great comfort.
There are a lot of ways I and others see my dad in me, but since he only came to know Christ in his final days, I can’t say he was one who influenced me the most spiritually. However, God saw fit to put other Godly men in my life when I was younger to help teach me, train me, encourage me, admonish me, believe in me, mentor me, love me, and simply be there for me. People like Don Lyerly, Steve Hinton, Charlie Churchill, Bruce Readling, Gerry Steedley, Eddie and Gene Beacher, Steve Roberson, Phillip Thomas, Grady Ingle, Steve Foster, Garry Baldwin, and Mark Stewart. I can’t even begin to tell you how at some point one of these men have impacted my life. There have been countless others who have come alongside of me to encourage me or speak words of life to me that have given me hope.
As I remember each of these men, or fortunate enough to get to spend time with them, I am always reminded that all they did was pass the baton on to me to give to the next person in the race. Obviously, those men were very influential in what I am doing today. I wouldn’t be here writing this article if it weren’t for their influence. The men on that list aren’t as young as they used to be. Some are retired or nearing that stage in their life. More and more I see the importance of taking that baton and following in their footsteps. I need to be looking to do what these men did for me, and what Paul did for Timothy and instructed him to do when he said in 2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will also be qualified to teach others”. This is our goal at Christian Adventurers. Thankfully, I am seeing this in some young people who have been a part of this ministry (our summer intern, Abby Martin being one). We praise God for that.
Is there a young person out there that you can speak an encouraging word to? One you can love? One to help not only believe in themselves but more importantly help believe in an all-powerful God who can take something little like a few fish and loaves of bread and do a great miracle with what they have if they only will offer it to God? You never know how God will use your words, your time, your giving to impact someone, and you may never know the impact that person will have for eternity.
Mark
“Now to him who is able to do far
more abundantly than all that we
ask or think, according to the
power at work within us”
Ephesians 3:20
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