The Left Seat

Welcoming and inspiring others around you must involve the “yoke” factor. In my first new Blog entry below, I refer to “The Left Seat” --- how to serve and inspire anyone who is sitting, standing, working or walking beside you. None of us are meant to live in isolation. We are each created by God and designed to live in intimate relationship with Jesus. This relationship is intended to be progressively growing and continuously empowering so that we bear much fruit from Jesus and for Him. This is the result of our spiritual impact in and through persons in close proximity to us (John 15:16) – what I called the Left Seat in my previous column. It was our Savior and Lord Jesus Himself who used the word “yoke” to describe the relational faith connection with Him. According to Matt 11:28-30, “…Jesus said ‘Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens…Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls.

“ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others as better than yourselves….Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:3, 5, NIV) In an airplane cockpit, the left seat represents the more “important” person in the pilot crew of two. In the seating arrangement in my home church of Heartland Alliance, the person seated in the seat immediately to my left is definitely the most important person from my perspective. Now, my wife always sits on my right but on any given weekend of worship, I focus my attention on the “new” person sitting in the left seat. I say “new” because in our large and fast growing church, there is a different person sitting to my left in most worship services. As I teach and demonstrate to participants in my “Welcoming Church “ seminars, it should be the natural — or supra-natural -- response of every Christ-like Christian to pray before and during worship for others around him or her. A