Who are you for? According to Pastor Nate Ruch, being for someone is more than just seeing the good in them in the moment.
“But also to see the potential of something good even though it may not be in the moment.”
Can you remember a time when you knew someone was for you, that they believed in you? Pastor Ruch reflects on the people who were for him and their influence.
“I can recall some coaches when I was younger that were not Christians but they believed in me as a football player. Teachers that believed in me as a student. Bosses that believed in me as an employee and they offered me opportunities or they stretched me and they saw something in me.”
“Their focus was on me; they believed in me. It wasn’t me getting to make them look good. They saw something that I could become and I was motivated to live up to what they saw.”
One example of this in Nate’s life was his father.
“When he would discipline me when I was younger he would not say, ‘you’re a bad kid.’ He would say, ‘this isn’t the best in you. You made a mistake, your behavior is not something that’s acceptable but I know that’s not you.’ He would call out the better parts of what I could become because he saw something in me.”
Sometimes Nate blew these comments off, but looking back he sees it differently now. He realized his dad was believing in something that even Nate himself couldn’t see. This response of being for someone is a reflection of Jesus.
“Ultimately, that’s the way it is with Jesus. What did He see in us when we were sinners? He died for us ahead of time. There’s something about the capacity to visualize and have faith for someone else. That’s a difficult thing in some circumstances when we see the severity of behavior. But people are going to continue to act out what they’ve always done until someone steps in and believes something different for them.”
Believing in a better future for someone can change the trajectory of their life. Who has God placed in your life that you can be for?
Nate Ruch is the lead pastor of Emmanuel Christian Center which is a multi-campus church in Minnesota. Nate’s passions include family, travel, leadership development, coaching his sons’ youth sports teams, Starbucks coffee, and the University of Michigan Wolverines’ football program.
Key Scripture: Ephesians 4:29
Featured Songs: Speak Life – Toby Mac; Believe – All Things New; Hands That Are Holding Me – Meredith Andrews
