“So I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good…” (Nehemiah 5:9a NASB)
Thank God for the Nehemiah’s; the life changers in our lives! Let me make sense of my first sentence by telling you about some life changers, people who, in a close proximity of time, changed the direction of my life.
Hiding with two friends in the bathroom at a laundry mat on 16th and College early one morning on a school day during my freshmen year in high school, waiting for one of my friend’s grandmother to go to work so we could play hooky at his house, I heard some familiar voices. They were the voice of my mother and father. Fear caused my eyes to open wide, my body to tremble, and my mind was filled with thoughts about the consequences if I was found not being where I should have been – at school attending classes. I bolted out of the restroom and ran! I mean I ran fast enough to have won a long-distance event at a track meet and possibly beat the winner of the horse that won the most recent Kentucky Derby! I ran all the way across town to get to school. The choices at the time were obvious: (1) get to school or (2) get “it.” You know what “it” means! Little time was spent arriving at a decision. I was going to class.
I entered the school only to be stopped by a teacher who took me to the Dean’s Office as if he had a warrant out for my arrest. The teacher was a life changer. The Dean gave me a serious talk about the need for me to be in school, every day. Mercifully, he did not send a note home. The Dean was a life changer. And then later that day I was talking to a classmate who informed me that students needed to pass four classes to be eligible for sports. The classmate was another life changer! When I did go to class, a Biology class taught by a teacher with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, the same teacher who ironically years who would recommend me for my first college teaching job 32 years later; he sat me down and had a passionate talk about the importance of pursuing education and even exceling beyond expectations. The biology teacher was a life changer too.
All of these experiences occurred in one day, in a span of less than 10 hours! The individuals involved, in my estimation, were influential life changers who had a vector effect on the direction of the line, the path that I was traveling; and they moved me from sure disaster to destined success. (Did you notice that I used a mathematical term, “vector,” to show that I really did go to class! Smile!) There are may other life changers that had a positive impact on my life; other persons that helped me modify my life for the better, There were preachers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, brothers, my one sister, aunts and uncles, authoritative-like Deacons in the church, co-workers, real friends, supervisors and executives, strangers on the street and of course, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The effect that the life changers had on my life did not happen immediately and I am still not where I want to be. But I can look back over my life today and see how the life changers’ persuasion and persistent good examples propelled me to pursue higher ground; personally, professionally, and spiritually. And yes, Christ’s gave me the perfect example! Needless to say, I finally gave in one day and picked up my cross and followed Him.
Take some time today to think about all the life changers that had a positive impact on you! Take even more time to thank God for those people who helped in your development! Thank the Lord, for continuing to mold you and shape you! Thank the One who began a good work in you and will perfect it! The closing verses are from my first sermon text 35 years ago, presented in a modern-day translation. This passage was a life-changer! Scripture qualifies for that designation most definitely! Have a great day friend! Smile! Be blessed!
“But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” (Ephesians 4:20-21 MSG)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King