Honour (Part 1)

I have just read an amazing story in one of John Bevere’s books, (“Honor’s Reward”), about an American missionary’s experience in Africa. A woman brought her dead baby, totally covered in a blanket to the missionary and asked her to pray for it. As she did so, she felt the baby move and cough and she uncovered it to see a beautiful little boy looking up at her out of two big, shiny eyes. She handed him back to the mother and noticed that she reacted with joy only when she looked at the baby’s face. When she asked why this was and why she wasn’t thankful when she knew that her baby was alive again, the interpreter told her that the baby had been born with only one eye – the other eye socket had been empty!

John goes on to speculate why it is that we hear of such amazing things happening in places like Africa but seldom in the countries in the West. He suggests that it is lack of honour. When I related all of this during some teaching on our Flagship Programme, an African pastor responded, “Yes, it is true”. He had noticed the difference between the way African people treat those who bring God’s word to them and the way we treat them in the West. As we look back at today’s verse we see that not even Jesus was able to do any miracles in His home town because the people refused to honour Him. When we give honour to the men and women of God, He responds in ways that are often beyond our imagining.

How do we treat our pastors and those within our church fellowship? So often it is with criticism and complaint instead of building them up and encouraging them. They don’t always get things right (who does?), but we should still give them respect, and it isn’t only those who pastor us that we need to honour – something we shall look at tomorrow.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Please forgive me if I have been critical of my pastor or those serving in the Church. Please give me a different heart attitude and help me to give them the honour and respect that is proper in Your sight. Amen.