Lessons Learned from My Sickness – Part 6: Primacy of Relationships
By Pastor Ronny Luces
This is the key to establish empowering and nurturing communities – we must take serious efforts of building strong relationships in our ministry.
St. Paul outlined this key principle in 1 Thess. 1: 8, “We cared for you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well because you had become so dear to us.”
Three keywords are mentioned here to help guide us in building strong relationships with people.
First, we must know how to care. He/she who sow seeds of compassion and caring will surely reap a harvest of the same compassion and caring.
Second, we must know how to share. This means dispensing concrete acts of generosity and not just offering empty rhetoric.
Finally, we must know how to hold people dear to us. This means being inclusive in the way we relate to people. Holding them, dear, means being honest, intimate, and truthful in our dealings with them.
Building this kind of relationship in our ministry will pave the way for establishing empowering and nurturing communities.
I’m grateful to God for giving me this first-hand experience in my ministry. The harvest of caring and compassion that I received are pieces of evidence of this truth.
Posted on FB: 4 March 2015 – 12:12 PM
About the Author
Rev. Ronny Luces was the Minister for Administration and Community Service of the Jaro Evangelical Church (JEC), Iloilo City, Philipines. He and his wife, Martha have been with JEC’s ministry since 1994.
Pastor Ronny graduated from Central Philippine University College of Theology in 1985 and was pastor of several Baptist churches.
In January 2015, after tests and two long hospital confinements, Pastor Ronny got the word he had lung cancer. He underwent chemotherapy.
Praying for healing and going through all the medical processes, Pastor Ronny wrote his reflections “Lessons Learned from My Sickness”. In July 2015, he passed away.
May Pastor Ronny’s series of reflections and meditations strengthen your hope and faith as you go through your own life’s battles.
Leave a Reply