Winning the right takes time

Here is a second helping from my friend and fellow Christian blogger Andy B. who you can find blogging, sharing videos, and loving Jesus at the Berry Bunch Family.

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Winning the right takes time

In a previous guest post for Rainer I spoke of the need to “Be loud, but do it quietly!” My basic thought was around the idea that people see what we do, more than they hear it. I spoke, too, of winning the right to speak to people: I wanted to explore that a little more here.

So, let me share a little piece of my own story to encourage you in yours.

When I drove trucks, professionally, I made a point of never speeding and I maintained a clean licence, despite driving commercially across a 20 year period.

On one project there were 30 to 40 truckers all doing the same job for many weeks. And every trucker managed 4 loads a day, except for me. I struggled to manage just 3, and this didnot go unnoticed. It wasn’t long before our boss took me to one side ‘to have a word’.

He stated that it wasn’t fair that the other drivers were all doing more work than I was. I replied, simply, that the only reason they brought in an extra load every day was down to them speeding. And I could state this as they routinelyovertook me all day long. My boss refused to believe that and,when I invited him to join me one morning – to see for himself- he refused and walked away.

When I eventually left that firm it was not a pleasant parting!It was a difficult 12 months, I can tell you! And I couldn’t wait to become a full-time, stay-at-home-dad, to our first child.

However, many years later, I actually bumped into one of those drivers rather God-randomly – in heavy traffic: we were both driving trucks, in opposite directions, on a two lane road – and the traffic stopped just as we pulled alongside each otherand our cab windows, both open on that warm day, aligned perfectly. Funny that!

He spoke excitedly of how our old boss had followed what I’d gone on to do – setting up a high street shop in a local city; I was often in the local Newspaper as it made for good reading to hear about a former, burly, trucker, who now sold cloth nappies, and advised new mums about storing and using breast milk for their new born babies.

That driver spoke of a boss I simply could not recognise. That former employer, as it turned out, frequently spoke of me fondly – as one of ‘his drivers’. And he frequently left newspaper clippings around for the other driver to read!

So, don’t ever give up being bold for Jesus! And ensure that your actions are visible to others, as appropriate. 

What people see us doing, or more specifically ‘how’ they see us doing what they also have to do, is one of the most powerful forms of evangelism we can ever be a part of.

Speaking about Jesus can be great. But showing Jesus through our actions, as the bible reminds us, is really rather more important because we will be known by the fruit of our action, not by our words.

And keep on trucking for Jesus (or typing, or gardening, or nursing, or plumbing, or caring, or studying) and be at peace with the fact that you many never know the affect you’re having on others. 

But God does know, and that is the only recognition we need ever care about! And give it some time. God is never in a rush, and we don’t need to be either.

Andy B

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I want to thank Andy B for taking to write these wonderful, encouraging posts he shared. In emailing with Andy, he also had this observation to add to the conversation:

In the world of commerce, you do all you can to keep people; you work very hard to keep people on ‘your’ website. But, in serving God, you posture yourself quite differently. This might mean we spend some of our time writing, and crafting, a post to be used by someone else – not for our own gain. Or why we may post articles written by others – which could pull readers away from us to them.

But that is also the wonderfully supportive world of Christian blogging, and it is the reason why I feel so honoured to be a tiny part of such a brilliant community of like minded, Jesus loving, people. Because it is a group of people who go out of their way to push people away from themselves, and towards Jesus, because He is always worth pushing people towards”

Andy B

I hope you are enjoying this #Blogtober season. I pray the Lord would shine His favor upon you and those you love.

Until next time…

Happy blogging!

The Devotional Guy™

#bgbg2#BibleGateway #Blogtober