Chennai: A Revist

According to the burden the Lord imparted me with, after the co-workers training in Chennai I visited the three families I used to visit, and this time one more added. These families have been in my heart for years and they have generated a specific burden within me, to minister life to them, and pray with with them even as I have been praying for them.

The first one was my ex-teacher who was very instrumental in introducing me to the Lord's recovery when I was a student then, and whom I regard so much as a teacher, and much more, as a brother in Christ. It was he from whom I began to learn Christ as life subjectively, and used to fellowship with him often during my student days. And till date, I visit him whenever I visited the city where his residence is. This time too, my fellowship with him was truly on life as was the previous one in the beginning of this year. For over two hours and a half, I fellowshipped with him about how the Lord's presence and blessings were so rich in the recent trips I took to the USA, the North East India and related to him some practical details of the Lord's leading in meeting different people and in the ministering of the word of God. The main burden of the fellowship was on "the Lord's Presence" in everything we do or say. By such testimonies, we enjoyed the fellowship of life when the objective word of God was incarnated and experienced subjectively in real life.

The other family was my local guardian when I was a student. As usual, in spite of their grey hairs, they always treated me with the best love-feast they could prepare. All effort to restrain them from such "trouble" were in vain. Perhaps,  that's how they showed their love to their "spiritual son," as I was much helped spiritually by their daughter and her husband, though the daughter had long been gone to be with the Lord. To them, as they requested, the ministry was on the builders of the Tabernacle in Exodus 31:1-6; on God’s covering grace, the light of Jehovah, being clean and pure, and serving in coordination according to what was commanded, all for the building up of the Tabernacle.

The third family I visited was relatively "poor" physically but the Lord has blessed them richly too. All their children were educationally and spiritually blessed by the Lord, and they have been faithfully following the Lord through all thick and thin,  and passed through trying turmoil time. To them, I testified of how the Lord led me to serve Him and some precious lessons of faith in trusting and serving Him. I also encouraged them to love the Lord and treasure His presence most by spending time with Him in the Word and in prayer. The five children were very precious, three of the elder ones have proved excellency in academics, and I termed it as the Lord's blessings.

The last family I met was on my way to the airport, a family whom I reckon in the Lord as my "spiritual children" according to the truth of the Bible. It was a brief time together, just prayer, as the son and daughter were at office and college respectively. Later,  from the airport I had a sweet time of fellowship and prayer over the phone with the son.

One lesson the Lord taught me with this last one and the last visit was in the matter of speech. One time I spoke a sentence not worthy of a brother to the son. I regretted doing that and the result was, I could not call gain until this time. Through this incident I learned the lesson of speaking: only to minister Christ as life.

All these visits were sweet and, I believe,  profitable too. This revisit to Chennai was indeed a visit that ministered life.