Examples

On an ordinary Sunday at the First (insert denominational preference here) Church, the congregation had just finished the last hymn before the sermon. The pastor stood behind the pulpit and prepared to speak. He welcomed everyone and invited them to open their Bibles to the passage from whence his message would come. It was at this time that a young man entered. He was wearing dingy and torn denims and a T-shirt depicting a rock band, and his hair was disheveled and in desperate need of cutting. The young man began to walk up the center aisle in search of a seat, much to the disapproval of the parishioners, who were whispering not-so-quietly their displeasure that such a specimen had trespassed on their new plush carpet to disrupt their worship. The pastor paused to allow the young man to find a seat, hoping that the congregation would then settle down enough to hear the sermon. The young man walked to all the way to the front pew, searching for a seat; however, there were none to be had. Without missing a beat, the visitor sat in the floor of the aisle, directly between the front two pews and crossed his legs, looking up expectantly at the pastor. Finally a deacon, quite possibly the oldest man in the building and one of the best dressed with his suit perfectly tailored and his hair and mustache perfectly trimmed, began to make his way from the rear toward the young man. The whispers changed from contempt to relief that something would finally be done to remove the vagabond. The old man marched directly to the visitor and, to the surprise of the crowd and the glee of the pastor, sat down on the floor beside the lad. With a tear in his eye, the pastor said, “Deacon Smith has just taught us, through his example, a better lesson that any I could have prepared for today.” The pastor lifted his sermon notes and tore them in half, and then he began speaking to his flock on the love of Christ.

I heard this anecdote as part of a sermon some time ago, but I cannot remember from whom. For some reason it came back to me and I thought I would share it. We, as humans, tend to become a bit proud of our buildings and accoutrements. Sometimes we forget that our purpose as the Church is to take the love of Christ to others. God does not care that we cannot afford the finer things in life. In the grand scheme of things, the shabby state of our attire is of no matter because while we look without, He looks within.

Peace,
Jerry
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