Dear Friend
In his commentary to the Letter to the Hebrews, William Barclay writes,
“One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to
laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is
easy to discourage others. The world is full of discouragers. We have a
Christian duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word or phrase of thanks
or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man
who speaks such a word.” Quoted from the Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Charles
Swindoll, p 179.
Encouragement brings a twofold blessing, for it is
true that "the best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody
else up." When you cheer someone else up, you make two people happy,
so encouragement is a great investment.
Encouragement is so easy to dispense. Yesterday Jean and I had
lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, The House of Chong. Over the
last couple of years, we have gotten to know one of the waiters at the
restaurant; his name is Lee. They have wonderful hot and sour soup there, in
fact the best I have tasted anywhere, so yesterday I simply bragged to
Lee about how good the soup was. Suddenly his eyes lit up, he smiled, and he
asked quizzically, “Really, you think it is the best?” and I said, “Yes, it’s
the best.” You would have thought Lee had won the lottery by the expression on
his face.
I think Lee and I will be friends for life. I am not sure Lee is a
believer, but every time I see him, I try to find something encouraging to say
to him. I really care for Lee, and the compliment about the soup was real and
genuine. My hope is that as the relationship continues to develop, the
conversation will reach a deeper level.
Building a relationship is an important part of evangelism, and
one of these days I suspect the conversation will turn from hot and sour soup
to something a lot more consequential, for soup is one thing, but the
Savior is a whole different story.
Let me encourage you to find your Lee today and maybe God will
begin to write the first chapter in another one of his exciting God stories.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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