The Transparency of Saints
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Romans 12:3-5 (ESV)
Well I will soon be finishing up my second month of being unemployed and it ain’t too bad. The pay isn’t as good as I thought it would be but it has made me available to take on what I have come to understand as “Kingdom Work.” Pastor Andrew Dixon (of Christ’s Wesleyan Church in Egg Harbor City, NJ) coined that phrase to me one day during a conversation that we were having concerning what the church could do to introduce the community to the “Addictions Victorious” ministry. As time has gone by there are those times when God clearly speaks that He wants something done. It is an “all hands on deck” battle cry and I am humbled at those times to be one of those pairs of hands. I hear that this battle cry gets used by Bill Welte at America’s Keswick but when I hear God He does NOT sound like Bill. PTL!!!
I had been asked by some folks recently to lend them a hand with their move from one house to another. First I was asked by the lady of the house then her husband. I was kinda humbled by this considering that the lady of the house just happened to be Diane Hunt, THE Director of Development and Addiction Recovery for America’s Keswick. I thought to myself, “This is Kingdom Work indeed!” Her husband, John, and I have gotten to know each other through their work with the Families for Christ ministry. So helping John out seemed to be the guy thing to do, but to be allowed to even lift a finger for Diane…WOW!! I HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED, well not really and there is no sense to exaggerate this thought any longer. I found out that this husband and wife, who have worked at the top end of a ministry that God has used to save me from myself, are as regular as a 20 ounce coffee from WaWa.
As I left my house to travel to theirs I kept telling myself to mind my p’s and q’s, keep my infamous temper at bay and be gracious when offered anything even if it was a simple bottle of water. I have worked with Diane on the Freedom Walks in the past so I was expecting the same driven person when I got to their house. That Diane Hunt was not there and I was taken back. “Well there goes that strategy, now what?” So I just got to moving furniture. Just for the record…the furniture was your everyday kind of regular. Their son, Jake, and I made jokes about how if we only scratched the back of their stuff no one would ever see it in the new house. For those of you who ever lived a college or single guy life understands what I mean.
My moment of clarity with Mr. and Mrs. Hunt came during what I’ll call, “The Garage Scene!!” It was that moment where the two of them showed themselves as husband and wife. It reminded me of the way my wife and I are with each other. When the stress level is high, the task has to be done and the clock is ticking. It was there that these people, who I hold in high regard, became transparent. After that, the move picked up a whole different speed for me. It did become an “all hands on deck” moment and I found room to flex my own sense of getting something done. But this was going to be for them even if I had to use my own resources to help them out.
These aren’t the only folks from the Keswick ministry who have been this willing to show their transparency. I think of Stan and DeEtta Marsh, Jim and Carol Ann Freed, Stephanie and Sesky Paul…Bill and Jan Welte, even my counselor from my days at the Colony, Jan Savercool. Jan once told me about placing the saints on pedestal and that it was wrong thinking. He reminded me that we need to focus in on how Jesus is the One who will lift us up and places us on The Rock. It is not of our own doing. Praise God that He allows me to interact with His people more and more these days. Praise God that I get to do this. It is making being unemployed a whole better to bear. – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular contributor to Freedom Fighter
Compass Pointers: “Those in the highest state of Christian experience desire nothing except that God may be glorified in them by the accomplishment of His holy will. But it is not inconsistent with this that holy souls possess that natural love that exists in the form of love for themselves. Their natural love, however—which within its proper degree is innocent love –is so absorbed in the love of God that it ceases, for the most part, to be a distinct object of consciousness. So much so, that practically and truly they may be said to love themselves IN and FOR God.” Article Twelve: Maxims of the Saints/Fenelon
Navigation Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 4:18; Level 2: Proverbs 4:20-27
Anchored to the Rock: Most of modern man’s troubles stem from too much time on his hands and not enough time on his knees. Ivern Boyett
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