The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"I Did Not Know"
I did not know.
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now" (Philippians 1:3-5).
When I trusted the Lord Jesus Christ in September, 1975, I realized my sins were forgiven, God had become my Father, Heaven was assured, and the Lord Jesus Christ promised to be and do all I would ever need as my Savior and Master. I did not know, however, that trusting the Savior involved being born again into a family, "the whole family of Heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:15).
"As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).
I quickly discovered the wonder of having brothers and sisters, a grace perhaps particularly pertinent to me because I had grown up as an only child. Soon into my walk with the Lord, I realized my journey also involved walking heart in heart, hand in hand with fellow believers in the Lord Jesus. I became amazed by such grace exhibited in those who shared the same Lord and the same faith, so much so that nearly a half century later, I literally shudder to imagine what my life would have been life without Christ and His people. Indeed, it would not have been life.
For each of us, the body of Christ includes those with whom we live closely, that is believers in our family, church, neighborhood, workplace, school, and other venues. It also includes those we meet along the way, some perhaps just for a moment in time, but in which God imparts a marvel of eternity that will impact us forever. Either way, God's gift to us of each other includes many people we would not have known apart from His saving grace in Christ, and many ways in which we would not have known Him as revealed in His people.
Such things come to heart and mind every time I write one of these devotionals. I cannot imagine the last 27 years without your fellowship and friendship in Christ. I have not had direct contact with all of you, of course, but I sense your fellowship nonetheless. For those of you I have come to know through this endeavor, well, they have not made words to express what you have meant to me. I will say it as I often do, and as I expressed to a friend yesterday: "I would not have wanted to have lived without having known you."
We encounter the Lord Jesus in each other as He dwells in us, and as He shines through us to one another. We will understand this better by and by. For now, let us believe it because it is true, and because in those times of blessedness together, the remembrance of the One who comes to us through each other enhances our gratitude, appreciation, wonder, and love. I did not know such things when first I became a believer. I did not know that the gift of Christ would include a family for which I could never begin to give enough thanks. I know it now, but not as much as I should and must, and not as much as I will forevermore in the direct presence of our Lord and His people.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments, as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore."
(Psalm 133:1-3)
Weekly Memory Verse
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:10)
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