November 19, 2001
TOGETHER:
Give thanks for investing in others
___A 10-year-old boy stood on the sidewalk of an urban street looking with wide-eyed appreciation at an expensive Corvette. The young man who owned the car noticed his admiration and asked, "You like my car?"
___"Oh, yes, it's too beautiful for words. Where did you get it?"
___"My brother gave it to me."
___"Oh, my," said the boy, "I wish I could be a brother like that!"
___Most of us would have said, "I wish I had a brother like that." But it is the essence of a thankful heart to be more eager to give than to receive. And it is the sign of a visionary to want to be so successful that you can be a blessing to others like that.
___I heard a similar story last week at Hispanic Baptist Theological School in San Antonio, an educational ministry institution of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Javier Elizondo is dean of student services and professor of biblical theological studies there. He is one of 16 gifted teachers--seven full-time faculty and nine part-time instructors--at this amazing place where students from six Latin American countries, the United States and other nations are learning the Bible and preparing for ministry.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___Years ago, when Javier was a boy, Calvary Baptist Church of Lubbock went to the Rio Grande to lead a Vacation Bible School. Javier gave his heart to Jesus, and everything changed. He went to Valley Baptist Academy in Harlingen, another BGCT institution, where he finished high school. While there, he determined he would get his older brother and sister in Mexico to come to the academy. His brother was drinking and carousing his life away, having dropped out of school after failing the second and third grade--twice!
___Javier went to California one summer and earned enough money to make it possible for his brother and sister to join him at the academy. His brother said: "I couldn't pass my classes in Spanish. How do you think I can do it in English?"
___"Just come for a semester and see. If you won't stay, I'll never say anything about the money."
___That first semester, Marcos was saved. Then he felt called to preach. He went on to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, another of our BGCT schools. Then he entered the first class at Truett Seminary in Waco, yet another BGCT institution, and graduated. Now he is pastor of a Baptist church in South Carolina.
___Javier committed his life to ministry soon after his brother did, and he began to prepare for Christian service as well. He has been an editor at LifeWay Christian Resources and a church planter for the North American Mission Board. Now he is back in Texas teaching some of the brightest, most eager students I have been around.
___Isn't God good? The Elizondos won't have trouble finding a thankful heart this Thanksgiving--and neither will I. I am thankful for the support Texas Baptists provide to ministry institutions like Valley Baptist Missions/Education Center and Hispanic Baptist Theological School through the Mary Hill Davis Offering and the Cooperative Program. I am thankful we can invest in the lives of others.
___More than that, I am thankful that in Jesus, those of us who know the Lord have an Elder Brother who has given his all for us.
___We are loved.
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