Assembly of God

By Norma Ballinger

LW Contributor

Pastor Sam Pawlak continues to bring short, scripture-based devotions each Sunday at 10 a.m. on Facebook. This provides a meaningful way for the congregation and friends to stay connected.

A Chinese Proverb I read that has stayed in my mind: “Life is an echo, what you send out comes back.

What you sow, you reap.

What you give, you get.

What you see in others, exists in you.

Do not judge so you won’t be judged.

Radiate and give love and love will come back to you.”

An echo is a repeated or reverberating sound after the original sound has stopped. No better example of how we can live our Christian lives so that others can learn and hopefully gain from us.

1st John 4:11-12 helps clarify, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” John is warning the followers of Jesus that there are dangerous false teachings that Jesus was not the Son of God. He is encouraging the Christians to keep their faith in Christ strong and to continue loving one another. Whatever we say or do speaks volumes about who we are and what we believe.

The words of Jesus in the Beatitudes, Matthew 7:1, from the Message (contemporary language) certainly fits here with Life Is An Echo, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.”

Be encouraged by these words and encourage those whom you meet and with and speak to!