For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Moses 1:39
Imagine the God who would speak this.
Can you believe in the God who cares only for our eternal happiness? Whose main purpose is to bring about our joy?
Imagine a teacher who looks upon his students and believes that it is also his work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
It's what Professor Jonstoneaux shared with his college students on the last class of the semester, in the last year of his teaching.
Professor Jonstoneaux knew he didn't have the power to make this happen but he knew he was on a pathway with his students. The way he taught, treated, and believed in his students would attribute to the glorious growth and development of each one.
I told very few people, but I adopted the same goal.
Recently, I was reminded of this determination, but alas...I no longer have students. So I wondered, what if I treated all people in this way? Family, friends, strangers.
This morning as we began lunch at a sidewalk table with very little space in between our table and the next, a mother with a baby in a stroller were next to us. When she got her check, I could see she couldn't get out. I volunteered to move when she was ready.
But I couldn't just stand aside. I had to move the chairs, so there was no obstacle. The waitress said, "Oh I was going to move the umbrella for her."
I said, "It's feels good to help." I had been thinking about Professor Jonstoneaux's mantra, and indeed it felt very good to help.
While at the gym, a man approached me, "Are you using the bench?"
I nodded a polite yes.
"Are you sure you're using it and not just putting your things on it?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
This time I laughed at his ludicrous persistence accompanied by an emphatic "Yes."
Then I wondered if I had treated him like Professor Jonstoneaux had treated his students. I had. It was indeed the best response to a pushy man.
Hours later, I'm riding on a bike path. A photographer's camera is posed to take photos of a family across the path. Normally, I would have thought I had the right of way and wouldn't have slowed down. This time, because of Professor Jonstoneaux's, I stopped. For ten seconds I basked in their family love. There were the very old and the very young; skin color of every shade; they were happy. The twenty-five smiles I received from being considerate~~ I will never forget.
On the way home, we stopped at Village Hardware to buy a mat for under the sink. Tony had suggested I order it from Amazon, but I felt the need to patronize the local hardware store.
An older (very old) gentleman helped me and when I purchased the mat, he said, "Thank-you for coming in; I really appreciate it."
I did too. Because it was part of the plan to help God with his.
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