Networking is a popular buzzword in the business world. Knowing people who know people can enlarge and alter our personal world. 

For example, a friend who knew me from long ago was on the interviewing committee when I applied for my present job. I am sure that her personal knowledge of me and mine of her, helped to secure the job I now have.

Networking connects us to and with others and these connections can lead to surprising opportunities; ones we never imagined for ourselves. 

Connections

A long time ago a friend and his wife invited me to church. At the time, I hadn’t darkened the doorway of a place of worship since my father’s funeral because I had an old vengeance against God.

The day my father ended his life was the day I no longer believed in God. How could I? Dad had been faithful to God. He’d attended church, prayed, and modeled faithfulness to his wife and family. Then, in a desperate moment in his life, God seemed to be absent. If God had been present, then perhaps my father would not have ended his life and abandoned me.

Still, when my friend invited me to accompany him and his wife to church I accepted their invitation. I didn’t know it consciously, but subconsciously, I was ready to let go of my old grudge against God. 

We arrived at the church, but it was unlike the one I’d grown up in.  There were no saintly statutes, no votive candles, and no large cross displaying the dead body of Jesus. There were no pews and silence did not reign. 

The gathering was noisy. People stood around the large room with Styrofoam cups of coffee chatting and laughing. I followed my friends to one of the rows of soft padded chairs and sat down. 

Soon a small band began playing on a raised platform at the front of the room and people started singing. I stood along with everyone else, but the songs were foreign to me, so I listened, and did not sing. 

Finally, a solitary man stood alone on the stage. Unlike a priest, he did not wear a robe, but instead, a suit and tie. He did not stand still behind a podium reading from a large Bible, but walked to and fro with a small Bible held open in his hand. He spoke about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, and then he made a statement that stuck with me, “If you want, Jesus can change your life.”

This brief introduction, from a man I’d never met, was enough to pique my interest in Jesus. It wasn’t long until Jesus showed up in my life and indeed changed my life forever. 

Why bother connecting? Connections can lead to surprising opportunities; indeed, ones we never imagined for ourselves.