How to Encourage Others

The purpose of life is to love the LORD and others with the resources God entrusts to us. The by-product of such a life is the top shelf, blue ribbon, heart-thrilling abundant life Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). Nothing compares to it.

Sky-scraping earthly achievements can’t fulfill us. Neither can riches, fame, or power. Pursuing those illusions, like an addict lusting for the next heroin fix, never satisfies us. Fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives does.

How much we love God and others determine how much of Jesus’ joy we experience (John 15:11). We can describe our relationships with others as building, bombing, or blowing off. Some days, we do all three with the same person! We lose our patience, temper, and composure, and the bomb doors open.

We say and do damaging things we later regret. “With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:9–10, NIV).

Furthermore, we behave as though some people were beneath us. Perhaps, we just don’t want to get involved in their messy current problems. That would cost us resources we don’t want to sacrifice. We blow them off. We ignore them. Our light doesn’t shine (Matthew 5:16).

We don’t behave as Jesus would in the same situations. And (attention, believers!), we are in those situations to live for and represent Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:15)! Yet, we still bomb people or blow them off instead of building them up. That is living like those who profess no religion (1 Corinthians 3:3). Ouch! Been there! Done that!

Jesus’ dying to pay the penalty for our sins (Romans 5:8) showed us the highest form of loving others (John 15:13). His entire earthly life demonstrated how to love.

He was a sparkling clean vessel through Whom God the Father poured out His love. Jesus unconditionally committed Himself to build up and bless imperfect people through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14, 18; Luke 10:21; Acts 1:2; Acts 10:38).

That was His assignment. He carried it out flawlessly (John 8:29). That is also our assignment. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up…” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV).

We can do it through the power of that same Holy Spirit as we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). Like the Wall Street financial market report, may our Christian relationship report daily reflect building hitting a record high while bombing and blowing off dip to record lows!

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