By Jim Nichols

All of us who read the Bible have at least one thing in common; we skip over parts that are uninteresting to us. One example is lists of names, often appearing at the beginning or ending of a letter. The book of Romans concludes with greetings to at least twenty-five individuals, only a few of whom we see subsequently. What we do know is that they were early followers of Christ.

One wonders if we met, what would our conversation be? What are the fundamentals of faith that are timeless?

My hunch is that each of us has had our own personal versions of such people in our history and that they have contributed to our lives in ways we may not recognize. I have been thinking lately about these individuals and points of influence in my life and realize now that I have not been appropriately grateful for them.

The people in your life who have played this role are different from the people in my life, but their impact was similar. Though our contact with them might have been small and short, it was pivotal at just the right time. The time might have been long, but likely they were our companion only briefly. Maybe they show up in our life history by our choice or somehow mysteriously, even “God driven.” Their role might be as simple as a single comment to us. Whatever the time, something they said or did was clearly God-sent. It was the correct instruction or act that, though I was not searching for it, appeared “spontaneously” in my life and is just what I needed to hear or see at that moment. My list does not include family members, who clearly played important roles, but more minor “bit players” in the scheme of a whole life.

In some cases, these people engaged in directing the educational choices I made. In one strategic conversation an academic mentor asked just the right questions that directed me toward graduate school rather than medical school. Toward the other end of that spectrum, as a friend and I were speaking about becoming older, he offhandedly asked me, “Why don’t you just resign from that administrative position?” I had never had someone so pointedly ask me something that was obviously lurking in the back of my mind.

Several of those on my list gave spiritual input. I made an appointment to visit the home of the preaching minister in our local church; I was discouraged about this group and, frankly, rather critical of them. This preacher had spent his life on the foreign mission field and brought perspectives I needed to hear; I was still early in my education and thought rather highly of my degree of insight at the age of twenty-five. 

During our conversation he said, “I find it helpful to think about a congregation as a hospital with patients of varying degree of injury or illness. They are all there trying to get better.” 

In retrospect, that was not an original thought, but he positioned it exactly where I needed it.

There have been many others who have been God’s messenger to me. A key point is that they have not only addressed an issue I had, but, more importantly, have illustrated how to look at it as a person of faith. They have served as models of the faithful Christian life and how one makes decisions. It is as if they are answering the questions my soul is asking in addition to the ones my mind is.

There is a famous Bible story early in the book of Acts in which the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day, preach to a mixed audience of listeners from a variety of countries and languages. The people are amazed that they are each hearing the Gospel in their own language. 

The usual interpretation we have is that this is a miraculous language translation event. That may well be true, but we could also understand that the Holy Spirit has given us a single language to use with each other. Another author has said “People’s insides talk to one another.” I am grateful that my personal history has included helpful people whose “insides” have spoken to mine.

Probably, your situation is similar. 

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain