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The author of the following story is unknown to me. I share
it with you without personal comment:
I saw him in the church building for the first time last
Wednesday. He was in his mid 70's with silver hair and a
neat brown suit. Many times in the past I had invited him
to come. Several friends had talked to him about the Lord
and had tried to share the Good News with him. He was a
well-respected, honest man with so many characteristics a
Christian should have, but he had never put on Christ.
I had asked him a few years ago, "Have you ever been to a
church service in your life?" We had just finished a
pleasant day of visiting and talking. He hesitated, then
with a bitter smile he told me of a childhood experience
some sixty years ago.
He was one of many children in a large impoverished family.
His parents had struggled to provide food, with little left
for housing and clothing. When he was about ten, some
neighbors invited him to worship with them. The Bible class
had been very exciting. He had never heard such songs and
stories before. He had never heard
anyone read from the Bible before.
After class was over, the teacher took him aside and said,
"Son, please don't come again dressed as you are now. We
want to look our best when we come worship the Lord." He
stood in his ragged, patched overalls, looked at his bare,
dirty feet and said,
"No ma'am, I won't ever!" And he never did.
There must have been other factors to have hardened him so,
but this experience formed a significant part of the
bitterness in his heart. I'm sure the Bible teacher meant
well, but what if she had studied and accepted the teachings
found in the second chapter of James?
What if she had put her arms around that dirty, ragged
little boy and said, "Son, I'm so glad you are here, and I
hope you will come every chance you get to hear more about
Jesus!"
I pray that I might ever be open to the tenderness of a
child's heart, and that I might never fail to see beyond the
appearance and behavior of a child to the eternal
possibilities
within.
Yes, I saw him in the church house for the first time last
Wednesday. As I looked at that immaculately dressed old
gentleman lying in his casket, I thought of the little boy
of long ago. I could almost hear him saying, "No ma'am, I
won't ever!" .... and I wept.
"My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there
should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in
fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in
filthy clothes, and you pay
attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to
him, 'You sit here in a good place,'
and say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit here at
my footstool,' have you not shown partiality among
yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen,
my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this
world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He
promised to those who love Him?"
(James 2:1-6)
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee
www.TFTD-online.com
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To read archived stories, click on this link:
http://archives.zinester.com/9516/2004
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Blessings to you today
Bob Johnston
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