So there I am, sitting at Starbucks ...

Monday for me is "Staff Development" Day.  We kick things off with our pastoral staff meeting first thing in the morning.  Then I meet individually with staff members for the rest of the morning and afternoon.

It was such a beautiful day that I suggested to one of my associates that we go sit somewhere outside.  We opted for Starbucks.  Since I only go there a few times a year, I treated myself to a "tall" (small) a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Man, was it good - although my pleasure was diminished somewhat by my awareness that this beverage cost fifty cents a sip.  But I digress.

As we sat enjoying our drinks and engaged in conversation, a young man approached us from the far side of the patio.  He walked toward us with a big smile and a pointed index finger, indicating that he recognized us and was very glad to see us.  However, I did not recognize him and therefore was not automatically glad to see him.

Seeing my hesitancy, he said his name.  As soon as he said it, I recognized him as a fellow pastor in the area that I had only met once or twice previously.  Since our last encounter, he had grown a bushy beard, which had made it harder for me to recognize him.  (My associate recognized him right off the bat and gave him a bro hug, thus indicating that he is both faster on the draw than I am, and much friendlier.)

Accompanying our pastor-friend was another young gentleman.  I introduced myself, and he responded, "Hi, I'm Jacob."  He said he was a missionary to Turkey.  That immediately caught my attention, and I replied enthusiastically, "That's so cool!  I visited Turkey about ten years ago to visit some missionary friends of mine.  Loved it!"

Jacob inquired, "What are their names?"  I told him (can't mention them here on the blog for security reasons), and with a big smile he said, "Oh, yeah - they're great friends of mine!"  He proceeded to tell me when and how they met.  From that point on in our conversation, Jacob and I talked as if we had known each other for years.

Why?  Because we had a connection.  That connection was a mutual friend of ours. 

Has that ever happened to you?  Have you ever met someone that you previously didn't know and perhaps had little to nothing in common with them?  But then you found out that you had a mutual friend, and suddenly there was an instant connection with that person?

That's how it is when we come to Christ.  When we, by faith, are brought into union with Jesus Christ, we have an instant connection with other Christians.  If you're a believer, you know what I'm talking about.  You encounter someone in a restaurant, checkout line, or Barnes & Noble, and upon finding out that he or she is a Christian, a whole new dynamic enters your conversation.

In the opening verses of his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul thanks God for their "partnership in the gospel."  He goes on to say, "I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace."  You see, the gospel is the glue that binds believers together.  In making this point in last Sunday's sermon, I told our congregation, "To increase your joy, invest in gospel-centered relationships."  

I've made a point to make some more relational investments these past few weeks, and my investment is already paying off.  That's how God's grace works.

That $4 latte was definitely worth it.