Preparedness, giftedness and the ways in which God holds up His Son

So, let me introduce you to Stuart Gordon. Stuart works for TWR (Trans World Radio) a Christian Media Ministry as their Human Resources & Communications Director, is married to Andrea and has also been a probationer for the last two years – that’s to say, that after having been successfully interviewed for Baptist Union Ministerial Recognition, he has served for two years as a probationer honing his pastoral skills and preaching whenever he can with a view to preparing himself for pastoral ministry and whatever God would do with him. During this time, we met once a quarter and discussed his suitability and preparation for whatever God was lining up next.
Naturally, as you can see from this photo, this was a difficult time for both of us! No, not at all! This has been a joy and a huge blessing for us both. I have learnt that we share a lot in common – our common love of God’s Son, God’s people, of reformed theology, books, coffee and humour. But also that we’re different. Stuart has a gift of administration that I can only drool at – his office is impeccably neat and his life regimentally ordered (or so it seems to me). And Stuart is a pray-er and I want to be. As the Holy Spirit has said, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17), so we have found it to be true and I have learnt a lot about Stuart and how God has shaped and stretched him. Having met Stuart, I have also realised my own greater need of God to continue to shape me more after the pattern of Christ than I am. I have no doubt that Stuart will continue to prove to be a great blessing to God’s people and thus glorifying of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and King and God, the giver of every good gift.