When thinking of the month of February, our minds immediately gravitate towards Valentine’s Day and the people God has placed in our lives. One of my peers at Liberty reminded me the other day that the big ways we celebrate others occasionally are only small glimpses of the ways Jesus loves us daily. I am surrounded by many special individuals at Liberty who daily grab onto the hope of Jesus even when the distractions of the world are very present.
While the next few posts on Undeniably His will be different than ever before, I am encouraged to introduce you to some very treasured and anointed leaders. Ryan is one of them!
When I first met Ryan, it was during my quarantine of first semester. Since I tested negative for the virus, I was allowed to walk to our cafeteria. Having any human interaction during that week was the highlight of my days.
Ryan engaged in conversation with me. His passion for people was immediately evident and his burden to honor them with God’s love inspired me.
In future encounters with Ryan, his character was exposed. A genuine heart for God and people is what I witnessed.
He treated me with respect and encouraged me even in my most messy moments. He is a compassionate leader who lives out of an awareness of God’s view of us. In this week’s interview blog post, we will learn godly and practical ways we can honor people.
Romans 12:10 (CSB) is the theme verse on our topic of honoring others!
“Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another.”
1. What does the word “honor” mean to you?
– Honor to me means that since someone is expensive to God, then they ought to be expensive to me
⁃ It’s seeing someone in their full value in worth – being able to give a full appraisal of someone and see them in their shame and in their potential
2. What moment or circumstance helped shape your passionate view on this?
⁃ After going through a troubling breakup I held a lot of anger, resentment, and bitterness in my spirit but then God worked through the biblical messages shared at Liberty to convict my spirit and teach me that I needed to forgive and honor those that I had been refusing to forgive in my life
⁃ It’s through His power alone that I’ve been able to make peace with my past and move forward with a posture of humility and honor towards others
3. How does honoring others aid believers in ministering to the lost?
⁃ Honor is the fundamental principle when it comes to ministering to the lost. If we honor those who are lost we will gain their respect on a personal level which will allow us to speak the truth of God in their lives
⁃ Earning the right to be heard is huge when it comes to reaching the people that want nothing to do with God and His truth. It takes confidence in Christ to reach out and serve people in practical ways in order to build a relationship with them and be able to share the truth of God
4. What would you say to the person who has been treated badly and has believed the lies saying they are not valuable?
⁃ I would say that you are not alone in feeling the ramifications of sin in your own personal life but to take heart because Jesus has prepared a purpose and future for you
⁃ God saw you before the start of time and you are so expensive to Him that He sent His Son to die for you
⁃ Don’t let the tragic sin filled world define you but remember that who you are in Christ defines you and He will fully develop your path and purpose
5. As someone who leads well and loves like Jesus, can you explain ways that others encourage you?
⁃ I’ve been encouraged the most by people who see past the first glance. People who give me the opportunity to get to know them and establish a connection with them
⁃ In a world that is so concentrated on the superficial, it’s always encouraging to see people see past that and look at the heart and character of a person and how they have been impacted by what God has done in their life
6. Could you give some words of motivation to other men out there learning to love and honor others like Jesus does?
⁃ Look to Jesus as the great model for honoring and loving others
⁃ Example: Jesus with the woman at the well – he sits by her and recognizes her shame and every relationship that went bankrupt and all the sin that was present but He chooses to sit with her and see her in her potential and who she could be
⁃ What would it look like for us to believe in people even more than they believe in themselves?
⁃ Choose to see people in their full value and worth, see people in their dignity, and give people the benefit of the doubt
⁃ Be quick to compliment and slow to judge
7. What characteristics do you admire most in a spiritual male leader?
⁃ Being humble in the aspect of thinking of yourself less while also not thinking so low of yourself that you have discredited the person that God has made you to be
⁃ Confidence in Christ and who He has made you to be while recognizing that you will fail and fall short but that you are just as much in need of God’s amazing grace as everyone else
8. How can girls better affirm and build up their brothers in Christ?
⁃ Go out of your way to affirm and validate the intentional acts of a man that is pursuing Christ
– Make it known that you appreciate their leadership while also encouraging them to continue growing in their passionate pursuit for Christ
Ryan is currently a junior at Liberty University and is studying Cyber Security. He is from Pennsylvania and enjoys hunting, fishing, playing soccer, and weight lifting!
HOW HAS THE TOPIC OF HONOR IMPACTED YOUR LIFE?
Undeniably His 