Melchizedek again

This Melchizedek thing is great!

This guy who's a king and priest showed the way for us all. Since that's what all of us are, as followers of Jesus - kings and priests. And prophets, too, for that matter.

Melchizedek met with Abraham and blessed him. That's what these kings and priests do. So that's what we do too.

And of course it works both ways. You get to be 'blessed' as well as your 'blessing' others.

The day wasn't all that old when a man from Kirkliston came in.

The soups had been done (Scotch Broth, the sort of soup you reall need on a day like today, and cream of tomato soup - an original recipe, shall I say!). The folk for the ante-natal class were already filing in.

And we were just about to get down to our time of prayer. So he came and joined us for that. And then came in to see me. Really very briefly.

He'd been going to drop me an e-mail, but he thought that the person-to-person approach was better by far. The Melchizedek thing.

He wanted to thank me, not only for all I've been doing out there at Kirkliston, but more in his own life too.

He described his 'journey' of faith, the progress he's made in learning to follow the Lord. And he hihglighted three major, pivotal points in his life. The last of which, he said, was the impact my teaching had had on his life - utterly transforming, was the way he phrased it.

If that's not 'blessing' a person, such a testimony to the way in which God's hand is on my life, then I don't know what is!

And I think, in many ways, that's what this 'blessing' is. Imparting to another that sense of the hand of almighty God upon that other person's life. Bestowing the grace and assurance of God's own love to their deepest soul.

Well, he did that for me. And I suppose that he had me walking on air for much of the day. Not that it had ever crossed my mind that there might have been such an effect upon his life through my (really fairly minimal) involvement in his life.

He and his wife are a wonderful couple, and I think they simply go around each day just doing this Melchizedek thing. 'Blessing' people, doing them good, encouraging them in their walk with the Lord.

I was thinking of that while conducting a service of thanksgiving this afternoon. There weren't that many folk among the people gathered there that I'd set eyes on much before. And I couldn't be sure just where these folk were coming from.

In terms of their knowledge of God, I mean.

But I really just wanted to do the Melchizedek thing. To 'bless' them. To give them a sense of the hand of God outstretched and actually touching their lives with his love, his presence, his life-transforming power.

There was time for a brief little chat with the son of the man's second wife. He's the one whose daughter I know from the school. It was good to touch base with him and make the thing that bit more personal too.

Back here after that and a brief chance to meet with Douglas again. I was thinking again of Melchizedek and what it might mean to bring blessing to Douglas as well.

I was asking the Lord, as I listened to what Douglas said - I was asking the Lord to show me just what I might say. That would be a blessing to the guy.

And he gave me the words to say. It was great. Douglas turned round immediately and said, I'll take that as the word of the Lord for me!

He went away blessed. I think!

It's a great way to live.