In Behind The Boiler Suit.
I’ve worked in many, many building sites and work environments over the years. From heavy industry like shipbuilding on aircraft carriers and oil exploration ships, to very small stuff like fixing a fuse, fitting a plugtop or changing a light fitting for a pensioner.
And, while working for so many companies I met countless people who were all there for the same reason that I was – To earn a living. If any of us could have found another way to make money then we certainly wouldn’t have been working.
But one thing I learned to do amongst all my work colleagues was this. Get to know the person behind the boiler suit. It’s a strange world when you start to get to know the real person that you’re working alongside. I’ve met angry churchgoers and kindly ex-prisoners. In one factory there were ex-offenders and active preachers among my daily connections.
There were people who led youth sports teams. Others who sang in choirs. Successful artists. Martial Arts instructors, canoeists, photographers, table tennis coaches, ballroom dancers, budgie breeders. So many people who led a varied and interesting background.
And life is just like that. We tend to see people in work uniforms and we stop looking right there. We see the clerical collar, or the nurses uniform, or the Postman’s uniform and never get to know them or look beyond the uniform to see that people are immensely interesting in their varied life pursuits.
Some notable Christians who had a lifestyle outside their faith/uniform were The Rev. Wilbert Awdry. He invented the characters and the stories behind Thomas The Tank Engine. John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrims Progress was apprenticed and trained as a Brazier – A worker in brass. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was apprenticed to work with a Pawnbroker.
Dwight L. Moody worked in his mother’s farm until he was 17 and then went on to become a successful shoe salesman. Gladys Aylward, the famous missionary to China, worked as a house servant before heading off to the mission field.
St. Paul, whilst being trained as a member of the Hebrew Sanhedrin was also a tentmaker. Peter was a fisherman. Jesus the Messiah was a carpenter. All of these people had daily lives and encounters that brought them into contact with everyday people.
The Scriptures tell us….
Proverbs ch18 v24 - A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Job ch6 v14 - "To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
1Thessalonians ch5 v11 - Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
So many people have been reached for Jesus by ordinary working people and community groups going about their daily lives. So many workplaces and schools have had little Bible groups set up to meet at lunchtimes so that fellow Christians could share with each other some thoughts and experiences about Jesus. So don’t be afraid to get to know that Christian from the next department.
With Cords That Cannot Be Broken
Bind Us Together, Lord. Bind Us Together.
Bind Us Together In Love
There Is Only One God, There Is Only One King.
There Is Only One Body, That Is Why We Sing.
TheseLivelyOracles@hotmail.com
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