World Improvement

@rickblumenberg

Elden and Katrina Portice

Here is a post from my friend and guest author, Elden Portice. He is a husband, father, teacher, missionary, trumpeter, landlord and roofer.  And those are only some of the things he does well.

His main livelihood is home improvement, but his vision is bigger than that—he thinks that with God’s help we can all improve the world.

I think you’ll find wisdom in his words. 

World Improvement, 

By Elden Portice

My trumpet teacher from college recently posted this:

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self."     - Aldous Huxley

I kept bouncing this thought in my head and wrote the following response:

Really? 

That would be sad if it were true.

Did I improve the day of that harried single mom with fussing little kids at the self-check when I bagged her groceries and demanded a smile for payment? I think so.

What about that check I sent to my missionary friend so he could buy a peanut sheller to help the neighboring farmers increase their income? I think that improved their world.

What about that friend who called last week after his uncle died—I could offer a shoulder and a prayer. I think his world was improved.

Did I improve anyone’s life when I replaced their roof, collected my pay, bought supplies from a merchant, and paid my employees? It seems that way to me.

I’ve been revisiting the life of Joseph. Hasn’t his example of faith and integrity “improved” the lives of countless generations?

What about prayer? I’m certain I’ll never understand how our prayers, miraculously and mysteriously, somehow move the hand of Almighty God. BUT, I know they do and many have been touched. Their world certainly is improved.

We touch others every day. We have opportunities to serve, to encourage, to teach, to pray for people, and, as agents of Christ, we administer his grace to a hurting world.

Our influence often transcends time and space. For example, my life and the lives of many I contact daily, are constantly being improved because of the patient teaching and encouragement of a young trumpet professor and his kind wife more than 30 years ago.

I don’t think I can agree with Mr. Huxley on this. Do you?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:” (2 Corinthians 5: 17-18).

Thanks Elden! Your words and the Word of God describe the kind of life improvement we can all participate in.

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s My View from Tanner Creek.