Hey gang: The new pastor was scheduled to arrive at
the beautiful church on the top of the hill.
As the hour of coming together approached, the cars were nearing the
church when they passed by a beggar sitting along the road in battered clothing
with a sign, “HELP”. As the morning
service began there was an excitement in the air for his was the Sunday when
the new pastor would be introduced and take over the headship of the
church.
The moment had come, the chief elder
began to introduce the new pastor when the beggar who all passed by walked in
and up the isle and on to the pulpit where he removed the tattered clothing,
the beard. A deathly silence filled the
sanctuary. Very few words were spoken
that morning on the new Pastor’s first Sunday, but the Spirit of God filled the
Temple, as people left the sanctuary with a humbleness that had not been seen
there in many years.
A high schooler was on his way home
from school when a student in front of him dropped his books all over the
sidewalk. This was before the back-pack era. Some students walked on by, but he stopped
and helped the lad. As they walked
together to the boy’s home, they learned they had many things in common and
became close friends.
Later, the lad told his new friend the reason
he had so much stuff that day, when he dropped it all over the sidewalk, was
that he had decided- that very day he was going to end his life because he did
not have a friend in the world; he had cleaned out his locker. His life changed that day, when another lad
reached out and touched him and said, “Here, let me carry some of your
load”.
It was an Old-Line Presbyterian
Church, pastored by an evangelical pastor by the name of Pastor Brown. If you know anything about old-line
Presbyterian Churches, you know they can be very stiff and correct etiquette
and form. Pastor Brown had just begun
his message when a young man, in dirty, cut off shorts, tie-dyed shirt, and
bare foot, came in through the door of the sanctuary and began walking up the aisle,
looking for a place to sit down.
Finding none, he sat down on the floor by the
first row. A murmur filled the Sanctuary,
but silence followed, as an elderly member of the congregation got up from his
seat- with cane in hand- began up the aisle.
The people thought, “Now, we will have justice!” But when the elderly man reached the young
lad, he dropped his cane and with great effort sat down beside him. Pastor
Brown’s comment, “Today, you will not remember what I have said this morning,
but you will remember - forever - the sermon our brother preached!
Three stories, each very different
but, really the same. It is called sacrificial
giving. Luke wrote, “Give, and it
will be given to you. They will pour
into your lap a good measure-pressed down, shaken together and running
over.” Now, notice Luke’s next words:
“For by your standard of measure it will measured to you in return” (Luke
6:38). Now, if that does not send joy
through your heart, you had best get your thumper checker.
We do not have a clue what trials
and tribulations those who cross our path are going through - and that really
does not matter. God said, “It is not good for man to be alone”
(Gen. 2:18). Why? Because we were designed to be communal in
nature and crave the recognition and fellowship of others. I do not know about you, but I certainly feel
the need to be “connected”.
So, friends and neighbors, never be
intimidated into being anyone other than the person God wants you to be. Take
every opportunity to be a seed planter of “God’s love”.
Blessings,
Gramps
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