Encountering Jesus – Through the Lives of the Faithful

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

 Among all the tissue paper in the box I found nestled inside -- a Bible. The leather cover barely attached and the yellowing, crackling pages made it fragile to touch. The Bible belonged to my great-grandmother. A handmade bookmark marked Psalm 23, while a pencil had circled John 3:16--scriptures that shaped her faith through the years.

As I held her Bible, I thought about how many tears those pages caught as she poured her heart out to God in prayer through challenging times and moments of grief. The prayers, songs, joys, and memories that tattered Bible was a witness to over the years caused a wave of emotions to flood over me. What a legacy to leave behind, I thought. I wondered what she would say if you she knew that her daughter, my grandmother, sung, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” while doing chores around the home. And that her great-granddaughter knew all the words to that song, before she learned “Jesus Loves Me.”

I am grateful to the people in my life who never hesitated to share their faith with me. As I’ve aged, I’ve grown even more in my faith walk. I realized my legacy is not the things I have but sharing my faith and giving to others. I know a lady who used her gift of painting to capture God’s creation in beautiful artwork; another used her gift as a seamstress to make clothing that could grace fashion magazines; and one could take leftover flowers, leaves and stems and create breath-taking flower arrangements. Their gifts they generously shared with others.

These ladies didn’t know each other, but they had one thing in common – they loved the Lord with all their heart and were not afraid to share the gospel. No doubt they are sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing firsthand from women like Mary, Martha, Ruth, and Esther -- the stories that we can only read this side of heaven. All these ladies are heroes of the faith in their own season.

Whose life are you speaking truth to? Ask God to send that person who needs to hear your testimony to you. You will be leaving a legacy that will touch generations for years to come.

Mitzie Avera