"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves." - Romans 15:1
God's been doing some awesome things around here, which have me flying high and remembering other times he's helped some people fly.
She was 50-65 feet high and scared to death. We'd all been encouraging Julie to try the Screamin' Eagle, which is a large pendulum swing, challenge-by-choice at JH Ranch.
Julie's husband was an airline pilot and had served a long time flying in our nation's peace-keeping forces. So the Screamin' Eagle was not much of a challenge for him. In fact, being a large man and going in pairs, Julie's husband and the guy he swung with went so high on their first swing forward that many of us joked that they almost did a full loop. And that would've been just fine for Julie's husband and the guy he swung with as both guys just smiled and never made a peep, let alone scream, on the Screamin' Eagle.
But Julie was a totally different story. She peeped. A lot! While she was standing in line. When she got out of line. When she got back into the line. At the back of the line.
Even though she was in a husband-wife group, most everybody in the parent-child groups knew about Julie's fear. And we all, adults and youth alike, were pulling for her. It was like this quiet, no-pressure, united, "come on, Julie, you can do this."
So when, after a long-long-long-time of waiting, we were all quietly hopeful that she wouldn't change her mind when Julie got strapped in with another wife as her buddy and when the motorized hoist started to raise them up, higher and higher and higher. The release was on Julie's side, so she was going to have to pull it.
She wasn't pulling it.
So finally another husband, named Wayne, said "3, 2, 1" while some of us were thinking, "Wayne, what are you doing?". Later, Julie would say, "If that guy hadn't done the countdown, we'd still be up there, waiting for me to pull."
Watching Julie and her buddy swing back and forth was exhilarating for all of us. We'd helped her conquer her fear, accompanied by a whole lot of appropriate screaming because, after all, it was the Screamin' Eagle that she was flying on.
But, as much as we all felt we'd contributed, most of all, we were sincerely most happy for her.
That's what God's Word encourages us with today, "We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves" (Romans 15:1). We help one another not to please ourselves.
And that's what Jesus did for us, as we confess in the ancient creeds: "For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven." He died for our sin, was raised to live for our justification (Romans 4:25), and will dwell in the hearts of all who will surrender to the Holy Spirit and personally receive him (John 1). And in all these things, he is most happy for us.
Friends, every person we encounter today is walking in faith, so every person has spiritual needs or even fears, like Julie on the Screamin' Eagle.
So, let's encourage one another but "not to please ourselves," but instead let's be most happy for the one that we're privileged to encourage.
Praise God!
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