12/02/2023
We're so grateful for such a fantastic response to this issue. Here is Mark Maxwell's article. Enjoy!
Honor Roll
In September, at a Prairie College chapel, we had the great privilege of recognizing three couples with Distinguished Alumni awards. Where I live, it’s the closest we get to the Grammys. These six are diverse in age, nationality, personality and giftings. But they share in common a deep love for Jesus and a lifetime of serving him. First up were Christian and Kristyn Mogler. You can read their story of taking risks and trusting God with the unknown (p. 12). Sharon and Jim Janz have been highly successful in business, but Jim is really an evangelist, having spoken to almost two million people with a message of hope, and seeing many come to faith in Jesus.
Our third couple, Nelson and Linda Reed, have served in missions for forty years, ten of those directing Action International. Linda told the students, “We are so humbled today. We’re just ordinary people whom God for some reason has allowed the great privilege of serving him. He has done great things with the little we have given him. He has used us as we have placed our hands in his.”
Some find it ironic to honor servants of Christ; we see it as biblical and instructive. A culture of honor celebrates virtue and nurtures future generations by modeling what is truly honorable.
God’s kingdom seems upside down. Honor is not reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Honoring others is an act of gratitude to God for the work he has done in and through those who live with faithfulness and integrity. The same day we honored these couples, twenty graduates returned to Prairie for a fifty-year “re-graduation” celebration. Someone pointed out that together they represented one thousand years of walking with God!
I believe we learn much about ourselves by honestly examining what we honor. The same goes for a church, a country, a culture.
“Pay to all what is owed to them,” says Romans 13:7, “taxes to whom taxes are owed…respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
In the midst of despair, Pastor William Stidger decided to honor someone from his past by writing a letter of thanks to his English teacher who had given him a love of words and the desire to be a pastor and writer. A letter came in return. “My dear W***y, I can’t tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my ‘80s, living alone, lonely, like the last leaf of autumn lingering on. I taught in school for more than fifty years; yours is the first note of appreciation I have ever received. It cheered me as nothing has done in many years.” William smiled as he read the letter, and a kindly old bishop who guided him in ministry came to mind. He wrote him a note too and received one in return. It said, “Your letter was so beautiful, so real, that as I sat reading it in my study, tears fell from my eyes, tears of gratitude. Before I realized what I was doing, I rose from my chair and called my wife’s name to share it with her, forgetting she was gone. You’ll never know how much your letter has warmed my spirit.”
Is there someone you could honor today? It may be publicly, but more often it’s in the form of a note, a phone call, or an email which might mean the world to them.
Romans 12:10 instructs us to, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” The ESV says, “Outdo one another in showing honor.” I like that. Finding what is wrong is easy work, but there is great joy in finding what is right and pointing it out.
God is honored when we honor one another. What could be more honoring to God than honoring those who bear his image well?
Mark Maxwell
President of Prairie College
