Note: On Tuesdays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
We call it charisma, the gift of drawing people to us. Sometimes the gift evidences itself in quiet, calmly confident ways; other times, it’s more exuberant. Everyone knew Jesus had that gift; the power that came from within Him healed more than physical disabilities. That’s what
disturbed the authorities.
Those in the public limelight—political leaders, professional athletes, actors and other celebrities—often have charisma. But when I think of charisma, it’s not a politician, hockey player, or movie star who comes to mind. It’s Cec Murphey. He’s a “retired” Presbyterian minister with more than 135 books authored or co-authored, likely including some you have read or own, including the New York Times best seller 90 Minutes in Heaven.
“I’m a hugger,” Cec writes on his website home page. “When I meet people, I like to wrap my arms around them. … I yearn for them to appreciate themselves and to realize that God created each of us to love and be loved.”
Cec has a monthly e-letter, and I feel hugged—and often, challenged—each time it arrives. There was the time he wrote about crises of the past, like the 2007 fire that destroyed his home, prepare him to accept current ones, confident in the Lord. There was the time that he caught an acquaintance in an unnecessary, flat-out lie, and realized he was called to love the person nonetheless, just as God loves him. There was the time he wrote this: “I’d rather be disliked for who I am than to be admired for who I’m not.”
Back in 2002, I was at a conference with hundreds of other people, and everyone I chatted with talked about Cec as a treasured friend. This of course predisposed me to dislike him; I can be a contrarian. Then one day, I looked up and an elf of a man with twinkling eyes was headed straight for me, hand out. “Hi,” he said, “you don’t know me. I’m Cec.”
Who could reject that sort of greeting? While our contact these days is primarily through his newsletter (and my fandom), I still count myself among Cec’s legion of friends, in no small part because he prayed for a solid year after we met that I would find my way back to God. In typical Cec fashion, I didn’t know that until I shared with him that I was back with God.
Call it charisma, call it Christian love. There are people like Cec in your life who reflect Jesus, who draw you nearer to Him. There are people in your life who look to you in the same way, whether you realize it or not. Use the gift as He desires to bring souls to His kingdom.
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