Smile for the Camera
The picture that accompanies this post may mean very little or nothing to most of the people reading this. I would ask you to take the time to allow me to explain why it is important to me on a personal level.
The fact that the picture means something to me personally is not the only reason I am taking the time to type these words. I am hoping that the words you read will be both instructive and encouraging.
Before I go any further with this, it might be helpful to provide a little background to the picture. It is more than a picture of a rose between two thorns. The picture represents quite a story.
This picture was taken immediately after a worship service in Salem, Virginia, but it involves people with ties to Kentucky and North Carolina. Some who read this will know that Donna and I live in Paducah, Kentucky. The young man in the picture with us is from North Carolina.
During the period between the Sunday morning Bible class and worship, I saw the young man sitting in a pew and just struck up a conversation with him. During the conversation, I asked if he was a member of that congregation. After he told me that he is, he asked where we are from. When I told him, he said, “My dad is from Paducah, Kentucky.”
When he told me his dad’s name, I recognized it immediately. He is an elder in a church in North Carolina. He and his family (including the young man in the picture) worship where I serve as an elder when they are visiting family members “back home.”
The young man in the picture is now living and working in Salem, Virginia. He said that he thought I looked familiar, but he couldn’t figure out where or when he had seen me. He also had no idea why we would be in Salem. He also didn’t know that the church’s new family & youth minister is our oldest grandson and that we were there to visit him.
So — what’s the point of all of this besides just sharing what I think is a neat story? First, I think that these events and how they transpired can demonstrate the importance of “just striking up a conversation.”
I have heard a lot of interesting stories and have gotten to know (or at least become acquainted with) some very interesting people merely by starting a conversation with them. For example, at this stage of my life, I have more time to help Donna by making occasional trips to Mars (otherwise known as “going to the grocery store” for her). Since, even after many trips, I still have no idea where things are, I’ve met a lot of nice people by merely asking where an item is.
I’m thinking of instances in The Bible where “just starting a conversation” had much larger consequences than finding where to find mayonnaise, flour, or one of those spices you’re not sure you can even pronounce correctly. Some of those conversations had consequences that touch eternity.
Do you remember reading about what happened as a result of Jesus simply asking a woman for some water? If not, you can read about that in John 4. What about the account of Philip asking a man in a chariot if he was understanding what he was reading from the book of Isaiah? As some of you know, that account is found in Acts 8.
Is it not true that the lives of people were dramatically and eternally changed as a result of those “conversations?” Is it not true that the same thing could happen today if we would get out of our comfort zones and just start a conversation with people?
Along with reinforcing what I’ve always believed about the importance of trying to get to know people at some level, there is another “lesson” that I thought of when I looked at the picture of those three people in Salem, Virginia. I’m sure that you noticed that the three people do not look all alike. There are obvious differences in gender, age and ethnicity. What you now know from reading the material earlier is that there are also differences in backgrounds, geography, and probably a lot of other things that I don’t know about.
So – why are these three people with a lot of differences smiling? I’m sure that part of the answer to that is that it is customary to smile when somebody is taking your picture.
As one of the people in the picture, I can attest to the fact that those smiles are also demonstrations of a real and precious truth. When people are united in their relationship with Jesus and commitment to Him, we are family. It doesn’t matter where we live, what we do for a living, what our race or even nationality is, how many years of “formal education” we’ve had, how much money we do or do not have, or any number of other things. Whether it is only the three people in the picture or hundreds of Christians at some other place and time, we know that any picture that might be taken is a family portrait.
Some who read this will identify with the “instant connection” you feel when you find out that a person who was a total stranger a few seconds ago is actually a brother or sister in Christ. This happens frequently to Donna and me and it never ceases to amaze us.
Some who read this may not understand that “instant connection.” If you are in that group, I, for one, would like to start a conversation with you.
A few fleeting moments in Salem, Virginia helped to remind me that there are no fleeting moments in heaven and that all of God’s family will be there for all eternity.
That’s a reason to smile!!
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
