MONDAY MORNING

"... mutually encouraged by each other's faith."

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong --- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." -- Romans 1:11-12

Whether we intend to or not we affect the lives of the individuals we come in contact with. We may  have a positive affect or a negative affect, but we will have an affect upon the lives we touch.

The Apostle Paul had already had an affect upon the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and the Thessalonians. A positive affect! And, he longed to have a positive affect upon the Romans in Rome. With Paul it was all about relationships. His letter to the Romans was to prepare the way of his coming to them, to present the salvation message and to explain the relationship between Jew and Gentile as it related to God's complete plan of redemption.

May I ask a few questions of us? --- What kind of affect do we have upon the people we encounter? Do we enter relationships only for what we can get out of them? Or, do we go into a relationship seeking what good gift we can leave? Are we leaving lasting gifts of faith, hope, love, joy, thankfulness, gentleness, kindness, etc? We all leave something behind with each person we encounter, each person we come in contact with -- even if it is just a very brief encounter. People notice. Yes, they do. I know I do. I notice.

Bottom Line: May we be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. May we be more intent to leave a good gift behind no matter how brief the encounter. And, may we realize that people notice.  Amen? Amen.