Mystery of one-anothering

When I was proposed to by a fine young Christian man, many moons ago, I got cold feet. I said I wasn't sure if I could trust him, though, I must say, there was not good reason for that, if indeed I believed God when He said He makes "new creations." My boyfriend replied, without missing a beat, "Maybe you can't trust me, but can you trust God?"

That was a perfect answer, from my subjective perspective. Perfect in demonstrating the humility of the speaker (by the way, I define humility as sober acknowledging of the truth), and perfect in laying out the truth of the heart of the matter.

First of all, the fact that his thoughts went straight to God was a very good sign, nicht wahr? Would not the response of the "natural man" have been either to defend himself with proofs or to be insulted and speak in retaliation? Secondly, did he not, in one short sentence, highlight the spiritual dimensions of the question? Did he not throw the spotlight on faith and creed where it belongs?

But the point I want to raise here is not that. As I was remembering the incident today, I realized that it was far more effective for Bob to have said what he said to me than if I had told it to myself. That is, I am fascinated by the observation that the selfsame words of counsel, coming out of another person's mouth, have a much bigger impact on me than that counsel preached to myself. If I had thought in my mind, "You know, Andrée, you may not be sure about Bob, but can you be sure about God?" it would not have been nearly as persuasive. Why is that? Can someone out there online enlighten me?

Whatever the answer to the mystery, one thing the phenomenon underlines for me is the importance of our having counsel for one another---the importance of our having such an intimate relationship with Christ that we are ready at all times to speak words given by the Spirit for one another's up-building. For reasons beyond me, God ordains that truths spoken to us by others have an extra power.

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