Encounters

Apologies to those waiting on a blog yesterday. It all got a bit complicated and I am afraid it never quite materialised.

 

As if a blog ever 'materialises' independently of my organisation and effort!

 

One of the things that really struck me was the worship leader/song writer Aaron Keyes.

I realise that I should probably say 'one of the people who made an impression' but he really was and is a 'thing' to behold. All his qualities seem to exist in an understated fashion.

 

He is not particularly dynamic or charismatic (although he certainly has a laid back charm and general affability) but what he lacks in dynamism, he more than makes up for in character and integrity.

Here are a few things about him that impressed me.

 

1.He is humble.

He never seems to speak from a place of pride or self promotion.

 

2. He is secure in God.

There seems nothing needy about the way he speaks. He has the air of spiritual contentment.

 

3. He is generous

His ministry in leading a worship school (Ten Thousand Fathers) and even the way he presents his seminars is entirely collaborative.  Sacrificing (or at least down playing) his own image/reputation for the good of the whole. He used others from his crew interchangeably and always honoured them with his words.

 

4. He is real.

He frequently referred to lessons he had learned in Marriage counselling.  He shunned from the pulpit any idea of stigma or shame attached to the idea of needing counselling.  Citing rather the fact that if help is available he is going to take it.

And it is all about learning for the improvement,  for the greater good.

 

I was impressed with him last year too.

So I know he is consistent.

 

But last year I was listening to his words.

This year I was listening to his life.

 

It was just the overall impression made by a man in love with and committed to loving Jesus.

 

It was inspiring.

 

In the same spirit that Paul asked us to imitate him as he imitated Christ,  I wanted to hold up his example as a Godly model.

 

And one of the things that he spoke about this year was the need to get away from the concept of 'encounter'.

 

We often speak of encounters with God.

But,  he said,  an encounter is defined as a 'chance encounter with a stranger '.

"We don't want encounter",  he said. "we want relationship".

We don't want a wedding,  we want a marriage.

 

And the examples he gave from his own marriage showed me that it was this commitment to humbly learning and growing in the context of a loving relationship that was what I really need from my own relationship with God.

 

I don't want to spend my life waiting for an encounter or experience to changed me.

I don't want to spend my life focusing on a wedding and miss my marriage.

 

Love is not fly by night.

Love is in the long haul.

Love is in the minutiae.

Love is patient and endures long.

Love is not self seeking.

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Love rejoices with the truth.

 

You get the picture.

 

To grow in these things with God,  we must not be enamoured with the temporal highs of an encounter. Instead  we must be resolute in the earthy fleshing out of the love that we are shown.

And these things will,  I believe,  make us fruitful, like Aaron Keyes.

 

Humble, secure, generous and real.

I could settle for that,

 

This day,

Any day,

Amen.