Who is the most encouraging person you know? Maybe it was a parent who was always there for you. A teacher or coach who pushed you. A manager who provided opportunities to you. For me, it was a minister who loved me without me earning it. He involved me without arm-twisting, gently nudging me to go further with God’s help. As he constantly prayed for and with me, God used his encouragement to change my life – which is exactly what church is all about.
We need that encouragement because our world is harsh! People are so jaded. Every headline is angry. Even our comedy is cruel, only ever laughing if it is at someone else’s expense. Sin ensures that there is plenty of wrath in the world. Yet into that pain, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thes. 5:9-11).
God wants better for us by living with Jesus, which Paul said we do by encouraging and building up. To encourage – the Greek word parakaleo – literally means “to call near.” Picture Jesus, and how He drew people close to Him – especially those who others cast out (cf. Luke 15:1; John 4:9, 9:35). Its companion, oikodome, literally means “to build the house.” Isn’t that an excellent image for how Jesus built people up, giving a foundation for lives full of love and joy (cf. Luke 6:47-48; John 15:10-11)? If you asked any of those people who the most encouraging person they knew was, I know they would answer, “Jesus.”
The most encouraging person you know probably followed Jesus, too. His love inclines us to be encouragers – “just as you are doing”. Yet, we should not take that for granted. As long as wanderers fear judgmental comments if they return to church, “harmless jokes” cause dread in the hearts of precious souls who struggle with insecurity, and anyone sits alone and unacknowledged, we as individual followers and churches have room to grow in encouraging. Living with Jesus means we call others near, not push them away. We build others up, not tear them down. If we will continually learn to encourage like Jesus, we just might become the most encouraging person someone knows – and through Him, change their lives in the process.
Train to be like Jesus every day through our “Your Kingdom Come” series of sermons, Bible studies, and articles.