To reach another, first become their student!

Good morning men!  Welcome to day 20!  It’s hard to believe we’re almost done.  Join me in prayer:  Lord, my heart is soft before You!  Lord, You are the ‘potter,’ and I am the ‘clay!’  Lord, Your will is my top desire.  Connect with me now, while I read this short devotional!  Amen!

Pastor Paul included an incredible concept at the retreat that every man needs to get.  “Be a student of the person you’re hoping to connect with!”

The best way for me to understand this is to keep asking questions of the person you want to connect with.  The more you assume you know the more you’ll disconnect.  

When I got married, I entered the University of Kristi.  As far as I can tell, after 37 years of marriage, this University has no graduation.  I’m still learning about Kristi.  I still ask her questions.  I want to know her heart.  In this University, I don’t fear her punishment, but I do fear being disconnected emotionally with her.  This keeps my heart, mind, and emotions continually on a research project.  I want to know her more, I want to understand her more, so I can love her better.

This is the way to connect with anyone!  And everyone’s life is enhanced through connection with God first and with others!

Jesus gave us a perfect example with the anonymous woman of Samaria by first sitting at the well and then asking for a drink.  But His connections kept going deeper because of her honesty and her spiritual thirst, even though Jesus was overthrowing numerous cultural norms.  So much so, that Jesus spent two whole days there, connecting the truth of Jesus to those people.  (John 4)

My prayer for today: Lord, let me see others as You see them.  Let Your light inside of me shine, first for those closest to me but also for those on the way to You! I will be a student of the precious people around me.  Amen!