Hello! I’m delighted to meet you again today to continue this series on growth. I love this theme too much and can’t wait to hear how God is going to work in your life. So, if you have any testimonies about the different articles, don’t hesitate to reply to this email with one of them! “Here are the first two commandments: love God above all else, and love your neighbor as yourself. In these two commandments are summed up the whole law.” (Matthew 22.38-39) Another passage tells us:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7.12) With regard to growth, as we have seen, setting an example is an essential element. God invites us to love others; He tells us that love believes best, and urges us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, to lead by example. When He addresses us, He also asks us to be the salt and light of the earth, further confirmation of this. If salt loses its flavor, what will we season it with? And if light ceases, darkness takes its place. The beauty of this illustration is that salt is a symbol of our talents and actions, while light is a symbol of God and His values. When we salt something too much, it becomes inedible. But when we’re in total darkness, the slightest spark breaks the darkness. Do you understand? You don’t have to be perfect and have all the skills to make a difference, you just have to have faith like a mustard seed, a seed of competence and a willingness to obey and spread God’s heart. The best relationships we can have are those through which we grow. We cannot have relationships without influence. They can be good or bad. But all relationships influence us. Contact with others causes us to grow and continually work on ourselves. Relationships are a blessing, adding value to our lives. Although there are different types of personalities and relationships, every relationship is a source of learning and growth. In reality, everyone “relates” but few connect. To influence the world and experience true growth, connection is important. When we love others, we take the time to connect with them, opening up the possibility of learning from each other and sharing two important riches. Have you ever heard of a divine connection? A connection with someone we haven’t even looked for. I’ll give you an example from a very recent experience. A person asked me for team coaching in the creation of an association. Frankly, at first I didn’t want to accept the coaching, and found every excuse to do so.
I’d gone into “desperate salesman” mode, the one who tries to sell God something by pulling out all the stops without even believing it himself. I was thinking about pricing and God kindly said to me: what would you like us to do for you in this situation? How did your mentor react? Did he charge you? Wow! What a slap in the face! I felt I had to accept this proposal, and for free. Having contacted her, we talked a bit about her project. Then came “the” question: “What else do you do for a living, apart from chairing the APE (Parents’ Association)? I explained, and at that point she replied, “I happen to work at CAF in the subsidies department, so I can explain how that works.” Wow, thank goodness! The project was postponed until next year, but we were integrated into the REAAP (REseaux d’Aide et d’Accompagnement à la Parentalité). God honors acts of kindness and goodness, but above all He honors obedience. Obedience leads to growth! God is a God of relationships, and He prioritizes relationships. Relationships are an important key to growth, and to experience true growth, we need to get out of our comfort zone and start living and initiating relationships. We need to start loving unconditionally. Love is the attitude that lifts you up. Progress and walk in love, and you’ll see many fruits in your life. To help you do this, I’d like to introduce you to the ministry Epidemic of Love, from a couple of friends, Denis & Armelle Pottiez. They encourage and help others to discover and share God’s unconditional love. To find out more and get better at loving, click here! Next time, we’ll continue this series by bringing you a key to taking the first step. It’s not that difficult to do! You can also follow us and share our page on social networks: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and so enjoy our news by sharing it with others.
See you soon,
You’re wonderful!
Joachim Fontaine
Coach | Consultant | Formateur
