"The cup that God has given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11).
Is the church pithy today? Keep
in mind Satan's church is totally united.
It is God's church that is fragmented and spends huge amounts of time
and energy arguing about our differences.
Did you know there are fifty-six different denominations with 173 churches
listed in the phone book? All within
fifty miles of Big Rapids.
I recently heard a pastor taken
to task for having lunch with a local catholic priest. The question to him, "Did you talk to him
about anything spiritual or religious?"
"Yes, we talked about several things that we agreed on". He added, “We enjoyed our time together so
much that we set up another time when we will sit down and dig a little deeper
into setting a foundation that we can talk to each with honest hearts and
integrity.”
Was he comfortable in the
initial moments of meeting with the priest? No, but I wonder if Jesus was
comfortable when he asked Peter, "Shall
I not drink of this cup that the Lord has set before me." I wonder how many times I have missed
drinking the cup that God laid at my doorstep?
Years ago, my bride and I were
asked to do a series of Parenting Classes at a local church; we readily
accepted. In the first class there were
four or five young couples who attended; at the second session the number grew
by several and within the month the number bloomed to more than twenty
couples. We were more than a little
surprised when all of the couples showed up at the next session and had completed
the assignments we gave them. We were
also amazed that there were no 'door knobs' (people who had no interest in what
we were saying but coerced into attending).
It was a class of sharing the
joys of success and the pain and agony of failure. Each week the class members grew closer until
it looked more like a family gathering then a class. At the end of the twenty weeks that we had
committed to, the request was nearly unanimous, they wanted to continue but our
schedule would not allow it so an alternate format was suggested. Let's develop a Family Support Sunday School
Class!
Sounded like plan so we took it
to the church board and amazed with their response ...”No, we do not have plans
for such a class.” No amount of
reasoning, about why this class should not be a very high priority, was beyond
my comprehension. It would have doubled
the size of the Sunday School, provide an opportunity to grow the church
numbers by advertising that _____ Church was a refuge for hurting families . Each of the couples confessed they had made
great strides in building their homes on Biblical principles and their homes
were more stable, fun places to be and filled with the joy of the Lord.
They gave a number of reasons why they did not
think it was a good idea to have these forty young people as part of their
Sunday School. I might add I sensed that
each lame excuse was based on a pride issue.
I believe the Board saw the strength within that group of young people
as a threat to their power base. The
end result is all of the couples left the church and moved to other churches
that were more family oriented.
We just went through the season
of the year where we celebrate another example, a much more profound example, an
itinerant carpenter from a tiny village name Nazareth was seen as a threat to
the religious leaders of His day. The threat was so great that Caiaphas, the
head honcho, declared it is more expedient that one should die than for us to
lose all their power and bangles and beads.
Soooo, I believe with all my
heart that when God breathed life into our mortal bodies He had a plan for
you. Perhaps it was to lead someone to
Christ, or to be a witness to those with whom you work, sweep the floor in the
dining hall, or just say hello to the cashier at WalMart. As you traverse this day be aware of the
opportunities God sends your way to be a witness. Ask yourself the question, "The cup that God has given me, shall I
not drink it".
Blessings,
`
Gramps
No comments:
Post a Comment