Song of the Week #61

Song of the Week #60

Song of the Week #59

Song of the Week #58

A Prophet Without Honor

Do you know who is sitting next to you? That’s a child of God with a unique manifestation of His character. That’s a vessel containing the power of the Holy Spirit if they choose to walk in it. That person sitting next to you could be the key to your breakthrough.

Have you neglected to notice who they are in Christ because you see them every day? Do you fail to acknowledge their anointing because you’ve seen them at their worst, or seen them grow up, or seen them fall a few times? Just because you know them as your friend, your mother, your son, or your colleague doesn’t negate the fact that they could be a live power line.

These people we know intimately are no different than the people we sometimes put on pedestals. We tend to clamor for these “big” people to speak to us or pray for us, but we look right past the people we see every day. These “big” people are really not that much different than you and I—they contain the same God that lives on the inside of every single person that is born again. And I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but these faith giants probably deal with the some of the same shortcomings, stumbling blocks, and perception problems that you and your friends and families face. After all, these giants of the faith are somebody’s friend, somebody’s mother, somebody’s son.

It is much easier for us to honor the people we view from afar because we probably don’t know their every weakness or know who they were before they became the person we see now. We can honor them (or their ministry) much easier because we usually only see the good stuff and hear about their best moments. But I submit to you that the very people that you do life with can hold the miracle in your life that you are looking for if you will choose to start honoring them for who they are in the Lord. And that means you honor them fully…let me explain what I mean:

Let’s say I get to see one of my uncles a few times a year at family gatherings. I’ve known him my entire life. He has watched football with me, taken me to amusement parks, and bought me gifts at Christmas. I know him pretty well and have been around long enough (and heard enough stories from the family) to know his interests, how he used to be, and what he is like now. Now let’s say this uncle is a preacher. He travels around and preaches the Gospel. He is a great family man and loves his wife. I have the opportunity to approach this man in a several different ways. I can honor him as 1) the guy who grew up with my mother and tormented her; 2) my uncle that I’ve always known; 3) a man who probably doesn’t care all that much for money; 4) a provider for his family who is faithful to his wife, 5) a man of God who has led countless people to the Lord; etc, etc, etc. The way in which I choose to honor him is equivalent to how much I can get from him.

Notice that in Matthew 10:41, Jesus says, “Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” Thus, by merely honoring a person according to their place in the Kingdom you can get everything that they have. In the case of my uncle, I can choose to honor as little or as much as I like, but whatever level I honor him that is how much I can receive. If I only look at him as ‘the guy who buys me presents at Christmas’ or ‘the funny uncle who makes fart jokes’ then I am missing something. If I don’t stop at the familiarity of knowing him and instead choose to honor him as a man of God who has spent his life to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ then I can receive so much more from him. The amount of respect and honor I give him is directly tied to how much I can receive from him.

It’s so much harder for us to see people that we know intimately as people who could be special…as people who could have a very unique place in the Kingdom. What if I said my uncle was Billy Graham? Would that change how you think I should view him? Guess what—Billy Graham IS somebody’s uncle. Somebody has the opportunity to only see him as their parent’s brother…only as a guy they see mostly at holidays. They get to choose if they will honor him as somebody they’ve always know intimately and heard crazy stories about his past, or honor him as being an evangelist to the nations.

You have the opportunity to look at the people around you differently than you have always done. These people aren’t only your friends and family; they are children of the Most High God. Choose to honor them fully and watch more life flow into your relationships.

Song of the Week #57