Pastor's Corner

We never know how much a kind greeting or warm hello can mean to someone who is going through a difficult time.

A dad and his son were both in the service during wartime, serving in different locations. Not having seen each other for months and being concerned for each other's safety, they caught a quick glimpse of each other across the airport tarmac as they were each boarding flights to different places of duty. Their excitement was expressed in wild two-handed waves and smiles as each stood on the ramps to their respective planes. Their brief-moment meant the world to them.

Though the circumstances may be different, a warm greeting can offer encouragement and hope to those who are in a place of despair or sorrow.

It's wonderful that the Lord can use us in such a simple and common way, providing us with so many opportunities to reach out for Him to others. The joy we personally experience in the Lord can touch another through a simple greeting, becoming a ministry of encouragement.

The Bible says: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Prov. 17:22. The joy of the Lord gives us a cheerful heart that expresses itself through the kindness and love we have for others. It is a medicine not only to us, but also for those we come in contact with.

We don't have to be plagued with a poisonous spirit that dries up ours and others bones, bringing them down with us. When we lift our heart and all of its contents to the Lord in faith and repentance, He answers with joy and restores the joy that we bring to others.

Pastor Greg Brownell

Dayton United Brethren Church