What’s God’s path for you and your people?
We had numerous great teachers at the LifeServe conference last week. I did an entry here shortly after John Ortberg’s session, but another part of his session bears repeating. He was talking about spiritual development and the fact that there isn’t one right path for everyone. For example, there were many cheers from the crowd when he pointed out that “Jesus never journaled.” He reaches us all in different ways, and we should be sensitive to the ways we are unique and allow for the uniqueness of those we lead. As Ortberg put it:
If we really want to help someone grow we will have to help them in a way that fits their wiring. Our great model for this is God Himself, for He always knows just what each person needs.
He had Abraham take a walk,
Elijah take a nap,
Joshua take a lap,
Adam take the rap.
He gave Moses a forty-year time out,
He gave David a harp and a dance,
He gave Paul a pen and a scroll.
He wrestled with Jacob,
argued with Job,
whispered to Elijah,
warned Cain,
and comforted Hagar.
He gave Aaron an altar,
Miriam a song,
Gideon a fleece,
Peter a name,
and Elisha a mantle.
Jesus was stern with the rich young ruler,
tender with the woman caught in adultery,
challenging with the disciples,
blistering with the scribes,
gentle with the children,
and gracious with the thief on the cross.
God never grows two people the same way. God is a hand-crafter, not a mass-producer.
