Come to think of it, that’s what we do all the time. For those of us who have lived in the same place and been part of the same church family for a long time, its easy to forget. People come into our lives for a season. We influence them for a while, we hope mostly for the good. They change us, too. They move on and so do we. Sometimes they move across the country or even the ocean. Sometimes, they simply move to a different stage of life, even as they continue to journey with us. The kids we led in youth group suddenly become our peers. It all happens really fast.

It strikes me that Jesus’ disciples knew and followed him for three years. ONLY THREE YEARS! That’s like, NO TIME! My kids would beg to differ with me on that, but then, three years is 20% of my daughter’s entire life. For me, it’s less than 6%. In three years, Jesus called them, taught them, commissioned them, confused them, and transformed them. He camped with them, rebuked them, forgave them, scared them and cooked breakfast for them. He gave his life for them. Before he left their sight, he told them to do the same for others.

Many, many years later, an elderly disciple John wrote:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.(I John 1:1-4)

Those three years with Jesus transformed all the other years, and countless other people. Why? Because John and his friends, kept doing what Jesus had done with them; invest in their lives with time and and grace and truth…

So, is your joy complete? In the precious, short time you have with the people you know, are you investing in them? Are you sharing that of God’s grace and truth that someone else shared with you? If you’re not contributing to someone’s life, that may be the reason that you’re feeling spiritually dry, or why you feel the joy of salvation has escaped your grasp. I wouldn’t be surprised if John occasionally longed for the days when he was face to face with Jesus. But the joy and the connection with Jesus he shared in his letter came from doing with others what Jesus had done with him.

So how about it? Are you ready for your joy to be made full.

Yours for the Journey,

Pastor Tom