Recently I came across this touching story that I want to share this with you.
It was a cold winter's day that Sunday. The parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. I noticed as I got out of my car fellow church members were whispering among themselves as they walked in the church.
As I got closer I saw a man leaned up against the wall outside the church. He was almost laying down as if he was asleep. He had on a long trench coat that was almost in shreds and a hat topped his head, pulled down so you could not see his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet, with holes all over them, his toes stuck out.
I assumed this man was homeless, and asleep, so I walked on by through the doors of the church.
We all fellowshipped for a few minutes, and someone brought up the man laying outside. People snickered and gossiped but no one bothered to ask him to come in, including me.
A few moments later church began. We all waited for the Preacher to take his place and to give us the Word, when the doors to the church opened. In came the homeless man walking down the aisle with his head down. People gasped and whispered and made faces.
He made his way down the aisle and up onto the pulpit where he took off his hat and coat. My heart sank. There stood our preacher...he was the "homeless man."
No one said a word.
The preacher took his Bible and laid it on his stand.
"Folks, I don't think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today. If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
wow, that is so powerful!
ReplyDeleteVery powerful post John - convicting too. It is so easy to believe these things in theory, but difficult and challenging to practice in daily life. You and I have so much in common, it is eerie. Both of us were: diagnosed in March, served as elders, married for 35 years, children married, grandchildren (I have 10),have some months to live, etc. God bless and strengthen you on your journey. May you have an abiding sense of His comforting presence in your heart. - Jack Westerink
ReplyDeleteJesus Himself was also often a homeless man as He states ""Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He too was despised and rejected of men, so He knows what homeless people go through. And so He calls us to be His hands and feet in this world also to the homeless and less fortunate. Jesus Himself showed most compassion to those less fortunate and sidelined by society. Yet, He could trust His heavenly Father in every circumstance. We just sang some Christmas songs, and one of the lines struck me "sleep in heavenly peace..." I wonder what that would be like to sleep with heavenly peace in our hearts and minds. We do get heavenly impressions from time to time, but to enjoy that heavenly peace that enables us to constantly rest in full confidence in the care of our Heavenly Father and in Christ as our Savior and Lord. The perfection of that may be reserved for heaven itself, but we do wish you that heavenly peace day by day,
ReplyDeletelove
Gerrit & Connie