The Interest of Others

Salvation is not just a free ticket to spend an eternity with God; it also includes an eager desire to serve God; to be obedient to him. Last spring, while in China, I sensed that God wanted me to spend some time with family in Western New York; especially to help a nephew with a house building project. There would be a three week period after Zuhua returned to China that Connie would be in Arizona with grandchildren, which would provide me with an opportunity to travel to New York.

Near the end of my three week stay I began to think about the blessing of being obedient to God and coming to work on this project with David. As I thought about what I was feeling, two verses from Philippians came to mind: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others” (Phil. 2:3 – 4, NASB).

These verses have been the topics of many sermons and memorized by many Christians. There are many comments I could make in the form of commentary on them, but instead I would like to focus my comments on what I learned.

I lived with my younger sister and her husband for three and a half weeks, which provided me with the opportunity to deepen relationships and learn more about their lives. I was able to form some very special memories and recall some past memories of things we had experienced.

I was able to spend time with two of her sons, David and John, who lived in the area and got to know them and their families better. I now better understand their struggles in raising their families and the dreams they have for the future. This time together has strengthened our ties as a family.

The time working with David on his house was the most special time of all. We both love working with tools and building things. We work together so well and we accomplished so much together. We were a natural team. But there was something else taking place for me. I had spent a lot of time working with my dad. We were so alike in many ways and worked together very easily, but with my dad’s passing, those times are over. As I worked with David I often felt like I was my dad, not me working with David. I could clearly see him in me as I worked and did things. It was so uncanny.

Spending so much time working at their home allowed me to gain insight into their lives and their family relationships. That is when I began to realize that connected to God’s commands there are blessings. These special blessings are available as a result of obedience. Seeing David as more important than me and putting his interest ahead of mine provided me with the blessing of spending time with my family in Western New York and getting to know them much better. Like my trips to China, my stay seemed too short. In both cases I have learned that the blessing of obedience is marvelous and provides one with many neat adventures. Step out by faith and see what happens.