from Ron Rose
January 21, 2008

Preparation

Our faith journey may begin with a small cry of belief, but it cannot stay locked inside a simple "confession" statement…it has to find release, expression, experience, or it dies.

Sometimes it takes a while for our eyes to see the difference this confession makes. And some live their entire lives and never seeing it. This statement of faith has transformed us, changed us, empowered us. We are no longer physical beings trying desperately for treasured glimpses of the spiritual world. We are, because of our faith in his grace, new people learning to discover the joys of spiritual living in the context of a physical world. Everything is new.

We have new eyes…spiritual eyes. We have new ears… spiritual ears. Wait for it, you will sense it. The context for life is radically new. It may take the rest of our lives to realize what God has done for us, in an instant. What starts, as a simple statement, “I believe,” becomes a contagious sensation of spiritual reality, that doesn’t just affect us, but those around us, too.

People begin to see us differently; they sense a different spirit in us, many times even before we sense it. In other words, God makes it so that we rub off on people, most likely when we lease expect it. We become his evidence of the spiritual world.

Inspiration

Dale was certainly not trying to rub off on anyone, but he couldn’t help it.

During my last year of undergraduate school I worked as a TV news reporter for channel 12 in Abilene. Dale was my boss.

The studio scanner reported a tornado sighting near Baird and I was dispatched to get the story and of course film for the evening news.

Just as I reached the top of the bluff overlooking Baird I could see the tornado. I picked up the 2-way, reported my sighting, grabbed the camera, made quick adjustments to the lens and began getting great film of my first tornado. It was dark and billowy. I took notes from what I could hear on the police scanner and sped-off toward the station.

The tech took the camera as soon as I arrived and I began working on the story. Dale had already place a crawler on-air announcing “Exclusive tornado film from Ron Rose at 6:00.”

I finished the story just as the film came out of development. Dale asked the tech, “Is it good?”

“Oh it’s great film.” The tech responded. “”Here take a look.” I was filled with pride and accomplishment, confident I had please my boss, but unprepared for the laughter that filled the room.

Dale looked at me and asked, “Is this your tornado?”

“Yes,” I replied, “can I see it?”

They were still laughing. “Are we going to use it?” the tech managed to ask. “Yes, we need a little humor around here.”

Dale handed me the film and asked for the story. As I handed him the script, he whispered, “Your tornado is a tire fire.”

It took weeks to overcome the public embarrassment, but with Dale it was just another story. The next day was a new day. The tornado was history.

He never knew how much he rubbed off on me that day. God was working in his life even before Dale was aware of it. And, God used Dale to give me hope.

It was a "faith rubbing."

Motivation

These unexpected times of spiritual insight, these “faith rubbings,” help place us in a spiritual context. They may not make sense in the physical realm, but they give us fresh insight into the spiritual. Life after all, is spiritual. It takes a spiritual perspective to connect the dots, to understand the mysteries and to see the future. When was your last “faith rubbing?”

Have you had an infectious encounter that helped you connect the dots… helped you make sense of your circumstances…opened your spiritual eyes? Have you seen the fingerprints of God, when no one else did?

Trust this, There have already been times when God has used your life to rub off on someone else and you were totally unaware. That’s what God does. And then, he leaves his fingerprints as evidence. That’s the spiritual world.

This is the week to open your eyes.