Green Pastures and Still Waters
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I don’t know where that sign was first placed but you see it in a lot of places these days. I confess when I first saw the sign I thought they should have included “pants.” It seemed to imply that shoes and shirts were more important than pants. I guess people thought that pants were a “given.” I’m not sure that is safe in this culture! Convenience store clerks have the option to not serve people based on their clothing (or lack of it). Church members seem to have more reasons than the above for not serving. There are a lot of excuses…too many to mention here but I’m thankful for so many people at Calvary that have decided to put others first, set aside their excuses (and even some good reasons) and serve the Lord by serving others. We have a great staff here but our volunteers are even greater! The staff gets paid for doing what we do but we have Ministry Coordinators, Teachers, Musicians and Children’s Workers that invest many hours for no immediate reward…and often with very little noticeable gratitude. Our Father in Heaven sees what they do and rewards them but I would like to say here just how much I appreciate our volunteers serving at CBC. They are truly the “backbone” of our efforts to become a healthy body, reaching a needy world for the glory of God. This Sunday is Servant Sunday. Maybe you are not regularly involved in ministry right now…would you at least take the time to thank some folks when you see them serving this Sunday? There are greeters, coffee attendants, ushers, teachers and many of our Ministry Coordinators will be standing by their booths this week to get you more information about how to serve. Every one of them is making a contribution to seeing this community redeemed and restored to God’s intentions. God is building the building that occupies the building…are you on the team?
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I won some tickets to the Gerald R. Ford Museum recently and we went down on a Monday to check it out. It is a very interesting place if you are a fan of history and the details of people’s lives. Not every person in my little entourage was as impressed as I was but she (oops, I mean this person) was a good sport. One of the more fascinating displays contained letters from people around the country addressed to President Ford that he received after he pardoned Richard Nixon. Some people were thanking him but many of the letters were quite disturbing. Isn’t it odd that we love to be pardoned but we don’t really care for it when it comes to pardoning others? To be forgiven is one of the great gifts of life. To hear the words, “I forgive you” is like cold water on a hot day. It is a cool breeze in the desert. I have heard those words from people in my past and felt a burden lifted. I also am waiting to hear those words from others and I am sad. There is little in life that is as painful as hearing someone say, “I will never forgive you.” In our text for this coming Sunday we’ll be considering the paragraph in which Jesus declared that there is an “unpardonable sin.” To think that there is something that God would never forgive is a frightening thought indeed. I’ll do more explaining (Lord willing) on Sunday but until then, let me just assure you, if you are worried that you may have committed this sin, you haven’t. Your concern for your soul and desire to have relationship with God is the evidence of life. God patiently awaits our plea, “Pardon me.”