It was Christmas Eve, 1910. General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army was bedridden and near the end of his life and it was impossible for him to attend the Army’s annual convention. It was suggested that the General send a telegram to be read at the opening of the convention to the many Salvation Army soldiers as an encouragement for their long hours of labour serving others.
Funds were limited, and telegrams were charged by the word. General Booth decided to send a one-word message. It had to be one word that would summarise his life, the mission of the army and encourage the soldiers to continue on.

When the thousands of delegates met, the moderator announced that General Booth could not be present due to his failing health, but he had sent a telegram to be read at the start of the first session. He opened the telegram and read just one word: “OTHERS” Signed General Booth.
William Booth was reminding the delegates of the words of Jesus who said, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-35

In recent days I have been reminded of the high calling that is ours to live our lives for others and that the best way we can do that is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to sensitively follow His prompts as we walk through each day. Living my life like this makes each day an exciting adventure as I find myself touching people’s lives in ways I never imagined.
In recent days:

• I was waiting to be served in my local supermarket when I noticed the lady in front of me had to leave some of the food items she had selected because she didn’t have the money to pay for them. I immediately sensed a prompt to pay for them and hand them over to a very grateful person and took a moment to encourage her.
• I was talking to an attendant in a mobile phone shop and in the course of our conversation, she seemed discouraged. She mentioned how a nearby electrical store had made business difficult for her. I felt a prompt to pray for her and asked if I could bless her business. She readily agreed and I sensed that the Lord not only wanted to bless her business but to bless her as well.
• I make it a practice to follow the prompts at the end of a church service and to look out for people who are on their own and looking lonely. Every week usually brings an opportunity to connect with people who welcome the opportunity for conversation and prayer.
• In my travels I often take with me a copy of Rick Warren’s gospel plan booklet, What On Earth Am I Here For? Again, I seek to follow the prompts and to engage people in conversation with the goal of giving them a booklet and asking if we could meet again to discuss the content of the booklet. These “divine appointments” have taken place in a park in the city, in my neighbourhood prayer walks, and even in the churches I have attended. And in the process, I have seen the Holy Spirit at work with people praying to receive Jesus as their Saviour.

Holy Spirit prompts can come at the most unexpected time and in the most unexpected places. But they come to us in the same way they came to Jesus when He walked on this earth. And they come to us when we first of all have committed our lives to live for “OTHERS”.

Paul encouraged the Philippians to live for “OTHERS” when he wrote,
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value OTHERS above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of OTHERS.” Philippians 2:3-4

May the words of a song by John Gowans from The Salvation Army, be our prayer as we seek to live for OTHERS.

To be like Jesus
This hope possesses me;
In every thought and deed;
This is my aim my creed;
To be like Jesus
This hope possesses me;
His Spirit helping me,
Like Him I’ll be.