The Soothing Voice of Encouragement

As Christians we are called to build one another up in faith, to consider others as better than ourselves, to love one another as Christ loved us.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" Philippians 2:3 (NIV)

How many times do you see in the secular world, people tearing each other down, hurling insults at one another, criticizing each other, or taking delight in seeing someone else fail. Sadly, many times, we are also witness to this same type of behavior within the church.

Don't you think the revival of the church and the Christian community at large starts in the hearts of men and women? Don't we suffer through enough strife in the secular world already? Isn't the example of God's grace and mercy in our own personal lives good enough? As followers of Christ, shouldn't we be the voice of encouragement?

In one form or another, the word "encourage" appears in the bible roughly 70 times. It goes against everything we stood for when we lived in darkness, but God has shone His graceful light upon us and now we have been called to shine that light upon others. We, as the body of Christ, must encourage one another in love. We must be the selfless givers of encouragement to those who have stumbled, to those who are in need, to those who just need to hear the caressing voice of someone who loves them.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" Eph. 4:29(NIV)

The body of Christ has many different parts and when one of those parts breaks down, who among us will come to help put that part back together. After all, aren't we all part of the same body?

"There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all in all" Eph. 4:4-6 (NIV)

There are times when many of us are weakened in our faith; when we feel somewhat separated from God; when we can't seem to feel His presence, or hear His voice. It is in those times that the oneness of love that we all share in Christ Jesus, must be given graciously to the brethren in need.

My hope and prayer is that we, as the body of Christ, would build one another up; would sacrifice our own needs for the needs of others; would be the soothing voice of encouragement to those who have stumbled. Father give us the heart of a humble servant. Help us to be more compassionate; to be the soldiers that stand as an example of the new revival within the church. May God strengthen us in our commitment to the well being of His body so that we can boldly bring His message of Truth to the world. Amen.