While on a telephone conversation with a friend, it was brought to my attention that the love someone was showing me a long time ago was actually the love of Jesus shining through them.
It happened in a prayer line in 1997. Consistently on Sunday mornings, I would ask Pastor Kelly to pray with me about my weekend follies. So the first thing she would ask is if I repented. I would look at her with a funny look and she would say, “you know, ask God to forgive you?” So right there I would ask God to forgive me and she would tell me I need to turn away from my sin and turn to God. The reality was that I didn’t understand what she was saying, but I did notice that no matter how incredibly sinful my prayer request was, she kept on loving me. The shock and awe factor didn’t work on her. As I repeatedly sinned and went for prayer, Pastor Kelly would repeatedly ask me to repent; this went on for several months, until the bondage of sexual sin was finally broken.
Looking back, I can see the love of Jesus Christ interceding for me through her. How blessed I was and continually am to experience the love of Christ through a friend, like Pastor Kelly. It was a little over nine years ago, but I recall Christ’s love like yesterday. How blessed I am to have God bring that to my remembrance.
In 1999, it was a Saturday night. A few of us went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I arrived late. People already ordered their meals, there were a few of the folks having a beer with dinner. Not thinking anything of it, I ordered one too. Sunday morning, I wasn’t in the church doors for less than two minutes, when Pastor Kelly came up to me and told me that she heard I was drinking last night. I was shocked! First of all, it was only one beer, maybe two. But nothing to freak out about. Secondly, it happened last night. Someone was gossiping about me? She let me know that I was a leader in the church and although I didn’t do anything wrong, my actions could cause someone else to stumble. I was clueless, and got mad, told her to mind her own business and went to Sunday school. Well, the Holy Spirit didn’t like my response and I had to repent to her right there in the prayer line. It was a humbling experience. I cried alot.
Pastor Kelly has never held onto any of the stuff that we (probably mostly me) have gone through, as friends, as my Pastor, as my supervisor. She models Christ’s forgiveness. She says I am teachable, I am called to serve the church. If my stuff gets in the way, then I remember Hebrews 13:17 (NLT), “Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your soul, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.”
She is a great lover of people and I think she's passed that on to you quite well!
Posted by: lynn | April 03, 2006 at 07:14 PM
What a great testimony....of Jesus' far-reaching--ever-present LOVE!
Diane
Posted by: Diane | April 04, 2006 at 03:27 PM