In the blanks below, write the two most significant statements in today’s reading assignment. Be prepared to discuss why the statements you chose were significant to you.
“To have an influence on other people, you cannot be just ‘more of the same’ kind of people they are. You must be different to make a difference – I like the tea analogy.
“If God’s name is to be proclaimed to the unbelieving world and His ways passed on to the next generation of believing children, it will be done only by those who take seriously the charge given in Deuteronomy 6 – It is a great passage.”
Write J. Oswald Sanders’ definition of leadership quoted in today’s reading.
“Leadership is influence, the ability of one person to influence other to follow his or her lead.”
What is meant by the term ‘servant-leader’?
“People are drawn to Christ by our serving and inspired to follow our lead.”
Name two people in whose lives you are trying to make a difference spiritually. After each name explain what you are doing so he or she can see in you someone like Christ and not someone like the rest of the world.
“Joe – being friendly and compassionate – a listening ear and gentle nudge toward Jesus’ love.
“Sherri – giving rides, water, maybe some food, and whatever encouragement and other help I can give.”
Dearest Rachel –
Oh, this is funny; I transcribed the page from day two last week, despite having put up the page for day one (and titled it ‘day one’ in the file). As far as I can tell, no one reading over your shoulder noticed the discrepancy (or if they did, they didn’t say anything; then again, they may be counting on me to write out what was printed on the page). In any event, it’s rather silly to duplicate the words from the second day, so while I’m showing the page from the second day now, I’ve transcribed the text from day one like I should have done last week. That’s what comes from trying to take pictures of two days at the same time, in order to get these Sunday pages set up ahead of time (although in fairness, this was a uniquely chaotic week; I’d like to think I have something of an excuse).
Let’s see if I can’t parse this one all the way through, though…
Your reference to ‘the tea analogy,’ while having no further context on this particular page, is something that was part of a lesson only a few weeks ago (at least, in your time; since I’m taking one day of your time each week, I had to look back several months to find it). At the time, you referenced the old saw about how people (and specifically, Christians) only show what they’re made of when they’re put in hot water. Of course, an empty tea bag isn’t going to have any influence on the water it’s placed in.
As for Deuteronomy 6, while I initially thought this might have been the reiteration of the Ten Commandments for the children of the children of Israel (you know, the ones who saw their parents all pass away in the wilderness, and decided to take God more seriously than their parents had – and as a result, eventually conquered most of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership), this is the chapter after that – what can I say? I’m okay at memorizing passages, but not so much when it comes to chapter and verse.
In any event, this is the passage containing what Jesus called “the greatest commandment,” despite not being classified with the original Ten: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength” (verse 5). Still, if one follows this one, the first three are covered as part of it, which is why the chapter goes on about keeping this one close to one’s heart, figuratively and literally. At the same time, the chapter doesn’t include the second one, that Jesus said was ‘like it’: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I’m guessing that this was because the Israelites were given a mandate to drive out the people who would otherwise have been their ‘neighbors,’ both as a punishment to the Canaanites for their worship practices and life behavior and as a prophylactic against Israel becoming like the Canaanites themselves. Sometimes, unfortunately, the influence flows in the wrong direction, after all.
As for your name-checking here, I wish I could recall who these people you’re referring to are, or were. I know a Joe and a Sherri that have been in our lives, but the Joe I recall needed no encouragement; he was friendly enthusiasm embodied, even if there was much about the Christian faith and life he didn’t seem to understand. Meanwhile, the one Sherri that comes to mind didn’t enter our orbit until much later, so I don’t know if the one I’m thinking of fits here. Besides, both of the people I’m recalling were already ‘in the fold,’ being people we knew from church; they didn’t need to be brought in (although everyone needs a little encouragement from time to time). As always, there are fragments here that I can’t decipher on the fly, especially from such a temporal remove. For all I know, you might be puzzled if I asked you to recall at his moment.
But that’s neither here nor there. For now, what I’ll ask you to do is to keep an eye on me, and wish me well. I’m going to need it, today and every day.
Letters to Rachel 