Memories are powerful influencers. Our family over the years was not one to call and talk to each other every day, or every month, or even in a year’s time. This year I determined to change that. I now make it a practice to call my elder brother, Richard, who lives near Atlanta, GA once a month, usually somewhere in the first part of the month. Mom, Dad, Sis, and Joe have passed on, so now it’s just us. We both enjoy catching up on our latest escapades and activities. Richard is twelve years older than me, and I have always looked up to him. When I was about seven and he was in college, he would let me hang out with him. I knew a lot of his friends and he took me a lot of places around town. He had an old beat up Ford pickup truck in those days that had no doors on it. It was cold weather and he took me with him on a trip down toward Gurdon to see somebody about something. When we returned home, I was so cold and stiff, he had to come around and lift me out of the seat of the truck and carry me in the house. That incident stuck in my mind ingraining a picture in my mind of a caring brother. One day I learned that his favorite color was green. From that moment until now, my favorite color is green. When I shop for shirts, I find myself always gravitating toward the green shirts. The positive influence he stamped on my life endures to this day – and I’m now 71. One time he said when it is raining, you should never go over 55 mph since the possibility of hydroplaning increases dramatically at speeds faster than that. You know what I think of every time I am driving in the rain? Yep. I remember that statement Richard made.
When we walk in a relationship with the Lord Jesus and we “hang out together with him”, he has a very positive, lasting influence on our life. Proverbs 18:24 says there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Jesus wants to be our ruling Lord so we can hear his guiding word for our good, but he also wants to be the friend to us who is even closer to us than a brother. Not only does the influence of Jesus in our life afford peace, joy, consolation, and a joyful, confident anticipation of spending an eternity in his presence. He also provides supernatural strength, healing, and health if we will remember, believe and apply his Word and Spirit in our life. Daily communion is all about remembering what Jesus has done for us. By hearing and remembering his Word and yielding our life to his Spirit, we can enjoy his supernatural power and loving care for us daily. By calling him and talking, we can enjoy his continued positive influence in our life.
