Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Smoked turkey, sweet potato pie, and a panoply of my wife’s amazing side dishes are on the menu.
Today, I read the following post on Facebook and was so moved by it, that it will be the entire content of this article.
I hope and pray this impacts your life for His Kingdom and inspires you as we enter the holiday season.
His name is Bill.
He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and flip flops. This was literally his wardrobe for his four years of high school.
He is brilliant. Kinda odd in his worldview and perspective, but he is very, very bright. He became a Christian during his junior year of high school when a fellow student shared her faith with him.
Across the street from the high school campus is a modern, conservative, and active church. They work hard to develop ministries to the students, but that process is constantly changing — and a challenge.
One Sunday Bill decides to visit the church. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt and wild hair. The service has just started so Bill starts down an aisle looking for a seat. The church is pretty full, and Bill doesn’t want to invade anyone’s territory. As he makes his way up the aisle, people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer to the front, and rather than bother anyone he just squats down on the carpet in front of the first row of chairs and makes himself comfortable.
Because this is so out of the norm, people seeing Bill sitting up front on the floor become uncomfortable. About the time Bill gets settled in, the pastor realizes one of the deacons, who is sitting toward the back of the auditorium, has gotten up from his seat and is making his way toward the front, specifically toward Bill.
He’s a godly man, very dignified, highly respected, wearing a suit and tie as he walks with his cane, his silver hair neatly combed, carrying his Bible under his arm.
You can’t blame him for what he is about to do. How can you expect a man of his age and background to understand some barefoot teenage kid with long hair, blue jeans and a T-shirt who has just walked in, thinking it is somehow acceptable to just sit on the floor in front of everyone?
It takes what seems a long time for the deacon to reach the front where Bill is seated. The church is completely silent except for some whispers in the congregation. All eyes are focused on the front. Everyone is glad this one senior adult deacon has taken matters into his own hands. Even the pastor is frozen in the moment with mixed emotions and thoughts running through his mind and heart.
Then suddenly God showed up.
When this elderly deacon gets to where Bill is seated, he ever so slowly and carefully kneels down beside Bill, lays his cane and Bible on the floor and sits down — to worship beside Bill so he won’t be sitting alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. The deacon doesn’t say a word, he just gently reaches out his hand to shake Bill’s.
In that moment, although nothing is said, much is communicated.
When the pastor is finally able to speak, he simply says, “What I am about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.”
Many times it takes a Bill to bring our focus back to reality. Thank God for Bills who will break the barrier and a deacon who is filled with the Holy Spirit to respond in obedience.
Oh, that our churches would fall in love with Jesus fresh and anew!
Perfectly stated, truly spoken.
Thanks for reading!
