From the Pastor’s Heart

I recently ran across this amusing story.

One day Herman and Mary were riding along in their shiny new car. Mary spoke up and said, “You know Herman; if it weren’t for my money we probably wouldn’t have this wonderful new car.” Herman just sat there and didn’t say anything at all.

As they pulled into the driveway Herman turned off the motor and they quietly admired their new home. Then Mary said, “You know Herman; if it weren’t for my money we probably wouldn’t have this new house.” And again, Herman just sat there and didn’t say anything.

They got out of the car and walked in just as the deliverymen finished setting up their new furniture. “You know Herman,” said Mary once more, “if it weren’t for my money we probably wouldn’t have this new carpet and all this new furniture.” And once more, Herman didn’t say a word.

It happened again as they sat down in their new den and propped up their feet and watched the big screen TV located on their new entertainment center. “You know Herman,” said Mary, “if it were not for my money we probably wouldn’t have this huge entertainment center.”

And with that poor Herman had enough. He turned to Mary and said, “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, Honey, but you know if it weren’t for your money I probably wouldn’t be here either!”

Often there are motivating factors behind our actions. And often those factors include: What’s in it for me!” This was certainly the case for Herman.

The next time you find yourself sitting in worship I invite you to ask yourself that very poignant question: Why am I here?

People often answer that question with the same mind set of Herman.: What’s in it for me?” I often hear people ask: “What does your church have to offer me and my family? I am often tempted to respond: wrong question. The question is: what do you and your family have to offer God and God’s church?

I hear people often complain: “I just don’t get anything out of church.” I believe we get out of church in proportion to what we give to the worship experience.

Worship is not so much about us as it is about God. Worship is one way in which we can express our love for God. It is one way we respond to God’s love.

I believe a little five-year-old girl in one of the stories found in ‘Chicken Soup For The Soul’ understands what God and life are all about. It is a story told by her doctor.

Little Mary had suffered a stroke that left half of her body paralyzed. To compound Mary’s tragedy, she had been hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor. And to make matters even worse, Mary was also an orphan.

Mary was being examined in an MRI machine which required her to be perfectly still for about five minutes; a demanding task for a five-year-old.

About two minutes into the first sequence, the doctor and the technician noticed on the video monitor that Mary’s mouth was moving. They even heard a muted voice over the intercom.

They halted the exam and gently reminded Mary not to talk. She smiled and promised not to talk.

They repeated the sequence with the same result. Mary’s lips were moving.

The technologist, a bit gruffly said, “Mary, you were talking again and that causes blurry pictures.”

Mary’s smile remained as she replied: “I wasn’t talking. I was singing. You said no talking. You didn’t say anything about singing.”

“What were you singing?” the doctor asked. “Jesus Loves Me,” came the reply. “I always sing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ when I am happy.” Mary exclaimed.

Everyone in the room was speechless. Happy? How could this little girl be happy?

The doctor and technologist had to leave the room to regain their composure as tears began to fall.

Mary was happy because she knew Jesus loved her. Even though Mary was an orphan, even though she was partially paralyzed, even though she had a brain tumor she knew Jesus loved her.

Life may not be all that we had hoped it would be. You may be facing some difficult times. You may be faced with a health crisis. You may be making that difficult journey through the valley of grief. None of that changes the fact that Jesus loves you.

And is that not reason enough to come and offer our praise and worship?

Why do you come to church?

Blessings,
Pastor Russel