Bob Russell, retired senior minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, graciously offered this Christmas remembrance he had written about previously and shared on his blog at www.bobrussell.org. Every Christian minister will likely be blessed by this story from 2015.
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By Bob Russell
Last week a couple invited my wife and me to a Christmas brunch at their house. While I remembered the husband from 30 years ago when he was a teenager in our church, we hadn’t interacted much over the years, so I didn’t know the family very well. Though I rarely can accept these invitations, the special gift they gave us that morning was one of the most heartwarming and inspirational Christmas presents I’ve ever received.
We were greeted by an active house filled with three adult siblings, their mates, and 19 kids, with one more on the way! Each child was dressed nicely and responded to us politely, but they were obviously excited to gather for a special day with their cousins. I sensed the brunch we were attending was a much-anticipated annual Christmas custom for this family. I was initially a little puzzled as to why Judy and I were included in such an important family tradition.
EXPRESSIONS OF THANKS
Before we ate, the host sat us down in two chairs strategically placed in the middle of the family room and the entire tribe gathered around. The older of the three siblings took out a notepad and began, “We are glad you could come today, because we wanted to express our gratitude to you for introducing us to the gospel 30 years ago and to tell you how much the Lord has impacted our lives over the years because you were faithful in God’s assignment.”
She went on to explain that the three of them had grown up in a broken home and had endured circumstances that were sometimes very difficult. A friend invited her to come to Southeast Christian Church where she heard Christ preached and eventually accepted Jesus as her Savior and was baptized in April 1986.
She explained on the day she was baptized it was like a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders and she knew she had an eternal hope and a reason for existence. She rejoiced that her dad was baptized two months later on Father’s Day.
“My entire life is so different and joyous today because of that experience,” she declared enthusiastically. “And I want to thank you not only for preaching the gospel but for being faithful to Judy. So many preachers stumble morally, and you didn’t. We can’t thank you both enough.”
She then introduced her husband, who is a minister in Indiana and who shares her desire to eventually serve God as missionaries overseas. “Who knows where we would be today if I hadn’t come to know the Savior you were preaching about years ago,” she concluded.
Next, her younger sister told how as a college student she came to church because of her sister’s invitation. At the time, she knew she was not living as she should, and the gospel convicted her of the need to change. She repented, gave her life to Christ, met her husband at a church activity, and remarkably, the two of them served as missionaries to Papua New Guinea for over seven years. They are now living back in Kentucky where she is a home-school mom and her entire family is very active, helping to lead their local church.
The younger brother then told a similar story of gratitude for what the Lord had done in his life. He married a godly wife who has a gift for hospitality and serves in various roles of Christian service. I learned he is dean of students at the University of Louisville and a committed Christian trying to represent Christ on the college campus. A humble man in spite of his significant accomplishments, he is a bold witness for the Lord and is about to complete the intense men’s discipleship program at church.
Then their children were asked to introduce themselves.
“My name is James; I was baptized on October 18, 2009.”
“My name is Abigail; I was baptized October 18, 2009.”
“My name is Anna Marie; I was baptized May 15, 2005.”
“My name is Andrew; I was baptized June 15, 2003. . . .”
Down the line they went, children from all three families who were old enough to accept Christ and be baptized shared the exact date when they gave their lives to the Lord. Every one of them had Bible names except for those who had been adopted from other countries . . . but each of them exhibited biblical character and were honoring the Lord’s name.
REFRESHING TO MY SPIRIT
When they were finished, a song sheet was distributed and everyone sang from the heart, “To God be the Glory, great things He hath done,” which had been the weekly theme song that opened every service at Southeast Christian back in the 1970s and ’80s.
I was choked up and had difficulty singing. Some preachers are gifted evangelists and are most gratified by conversions. For some reason, I always got a bigger thrill out of seeing people mature in Christ. It really warms my soul to see people who really get it, who develop a biblical worldview and consistently demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. It’s especially gratifying to see how Jesus Christ has a positive generational impact.
I can’t fully express how much it refreshed my spirit to observe such a tangible harvest from the gospel seeds sown 30 years ago. Frankly, there are a lot of failures and disappointments in ministry. . . . But when the Word of God is allowed to take root and grow, it produces a glorious harvest of salvation, transformation and righteousness to the third and fourth generation. . . .
I drove away from that brunch greatly encouraged by the magnificent harvest I had just witnessed. Jesus Christ not only transformed the eternal destiny of those three siblings, but over time he has positively influenced their careers, their marriages, and now their children. Judy and I thanked God we were so privileged to preach the gospel in a field where the soil was receptive and so many received it, cultivated it, and allowed it to take root and grow in their heart. I am richly blessed.
To those of you who want to make a spiritual difference but sometimes get discouraged by hostile rejections and frustrating indifference, listen again to the admonition of Scripture: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
This memory originally appeared Dec. 27, 2015, at bobrussell.org.
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