Untapped

A friend of mine was talking to me recently.

I’ve got a lot of time for him and admire him a great deal for his loving character, his great sense of humour and grounded approach to life, his humility makes a massive impression every time we converse. As we conversed, he told me about feeling like he was untapped. That for all his years following Jesus and being church circles and imbibing Christian material, he still felt as though he had not realised what there was in him. As if there was a great gusher of potential waiting to be actualised and benefit others.

It was fascinating listening to him share this reflection. I know him to have done quite a lot for Christ – looking after children and young people, supporting a fellowship as they have navigated through various challenges. All of that as well as being a husband and father – one of those that I would refer to as a good role model of steady, humble consistency. So to hear him talk this way really got me thinking.

Thinking about others who are untapped. In jobs, with families, going through the motions, struggling to keep afloat in the pool of life, barely making ends meet, just getting by. Living in a world that’s been shaped around their financial responsibilities and placing them neatly in the position of consumers and contributors to the merry-go-round of life.

There is something about being among a community of believers who recognise that life is not designed to be a merry-go-round. A community of believers who see in Christ new life in a Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy. A community of believers who work out their understanding of this reality in relationships with each other that stimulates their relationships with others. In the stimulating and stirring, there’s something about realising that geyser of gushing oil within designed to enrich others. The oil within is the very life of God that in time past filled people with the great capacity to love each other, serve each other, meet each others needs, help each other grow in knowing Jesus. This oil enabled this community to be the light in the world and the salt of the earth and recognise what it means to be the Body of Christ as each part of the Body plays its part.

It’s a great privilege coming alongside others and witnessing them tap into great depth of riches of the life of Christ in them. Tap into it not by self-motivation or will power, but by knowing Jesus in prayer, in study, in fellowship, in taking those steps of action producing the good works that Jesus has prepared for them in the context of relationships.

The riches to be found in people are there to be tapped into and it is one of the greatest tragedies of human existence that so many go through it with all those riches left untapped. I have every confidence that my friend’s days on earth will not end with that sense of being somewhat unfulfilled. My confidence is in the Jesus he follows. Jesus calls people to Himself to give up everything about themselves and see that life is only ever truly found in Him. This is a process taking place over time. This is a process that requires patience in allegiance and persistence in faith. Intentional desire for Christ above everything else. Seeing the surpassing worth of knowing Him and embracing that in the context of a community of believers in a similar pursuit makes all the difference.

That realisation of the good that can come from this truth means that people don’t have to look far to find the greatest enriching oil.

(Photo by Zbynek Burival on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden