When you stand before God

Mar

24

2021

Share

Listen

Subscribe

Share


Listen

Subscribe

Mar

24

2021

March 24, 2021 – Click here to listen

Yesterday we hauled three moving trucks by barge for my move. It was extremely difficult work to get the trucks there and then the furniture had to be taken up stairs and much of it was HEAVY! The movers sent seven big guys and they were dragging when we finally unloaded the last item.

But we did it and now comes the strenuous part of putting everything where it belongs, 184 boxes await their opening over the next few days. The house and garage that I’m moving into are smaller than my previous home so I must decide what furniture I’m going to give away, but the most difficult part is done.

An interesting thing happened yesterday. The owner of the barge company had at great expense spent all day using his heavy equipment and barges to move our three trucks from a point perhaps two miles away from my new home and across the harbor. I shuddered to think what he would charge me, but due to the bridge reconstruction on the road leading to my home, if we hadn’t used this option, we would have had to unload all that furniture to pickups and small trailers to stay within the 4 ton limit to cross the bridges. It would have taken a week to move under those conditions.

At the end of the day I was thanking him and telling him how much I appreciated him taking time away from his other work to help me out. We were discussing being in business and the value of having integrity in being successful. I told him I knew that one day I would face God and answer for what I’d done and I wanted to have a good report. As we discussed this, I ended up witnessing to him. It turned out he was already a Christian and he told me he appreciated that I was willing to talk about Jesus to a stranger. I told him I was an evangelist at heart and nothing is more important than following Jesus right into heaven.

He then said he’d heard that I was involved in some type of ministry. He lives on Duck Key himself and apparently word had gotten around our small community that I’d founded the Jesus Alliance and had participated in prison ministry for decades. I told him that, yes, I’d been involved with several ministries and had even founded a church up at Honey Lake near Tallahassee. I mentioned that I stepped down from being the CEO of The Jesus Alliance last year to make room for younger blood and new ideas but I still was involved as a Board member.

So we wrapped up our conversation and I asked if he had an invoice and I would write him a check. He said, “Let’s just call it even.”

 Huh?

I stammered, “But I owe you thousands of dollars, how can we be even?”

He said, “Just consider it a donation for all that you’ve done for the Kingdom.”

I said, “I could never do that, please tell me how much I owe and let me pay you. You have been a lifesaver to us on this move.” He just smiled and said not to deprive him of blessing me and not to worry about it and waved goodbye as he walked to his truck.

I woke up thinking about this today and am still flabbergasted. It is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I’ve helped others but I’ve never had anyone aside from my children do something like this for me.

As I mulled this over, I further realized that the only people who have offered to help us move are Christian friends. It is a difficult, thankless job, and everyone despises moving including me, but I had one person who lives in Tallahassee offer to drive all of the way down here to help us move. You guessed it she and her husband are followers of Christ.

I should never be surprised about God and His church, but I must admit this world leaves me jaded and cynical sometimes. So many hands are reaching out trying to grab what they can get in this life that they seldom think about the brevity of it and then what?

The man that owned the construction company did what he did because he understands that life consists of more than money and things. One thing sure he has made a friend of me for eternity, not because of the money, but because we are kindred spirits in loving Jesus. Sometimes because of the state that the world is in, we lose sight of the real things in life. “The most important things in life aren’t things . . .”

It is a terrifying thought for many to consider that you never know which day is going to be your last, but nonetheless that is our situation. The important thing to remember about this statement is that everybody should be living their days as though it could be their last. So maybe the next time you feel so caught up in materialistic things, you should try to stop and think about your priorities and consider blessing someone else, even a complete stranger.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Share

Listen

Subscribe

Share


Listen

Subscribe