If only...
I'm probably not going where some of you might think with today's post. Yes there are times that I say, if only, but I've learned from those times and paid for some of them dearly. I'm sure we all have and for those times I think the rule of thumb isn't to go back and say "if only". We can learn and grow and say to ourselves, "next time...". Today's post is in regard to the crack pipe I found at the church on Friday.
I'll never know why it was left there, but one possible explanation and my prayer for the owner is this:
I see in my mind's eye someone struggling with addiction, not knowing where to turn, and finding themselves in front of the First Baptist Church in Ogden. Sitting on the lawn, they're distraught, and turn to the Lord in prayer. Through His grace, He touches the life of the person sitting there and the pipe is left on the lawn as a way to say to Jesus, "You're right, Lord, and I don't need this anymore. I'm leaving this horrible thing with you, Jesus".
I'll never know if this is the case, but the point of today's post is this: If only this were the case. If this little scenario actually played out like the little vignette in my mind, what would have been the other ending if the church wasn't where it was? What if it were just an empty building, or not even a church at all? I honestly don't know where I'd be if I'd not known where to go when I was so distraught that Easter Sunday morning a year and a half ago. If the pastor hadn't been there and met with me the following Tuesday and helped me the way he did, where would my life be? I had a place to turn to because my church was there. I drove by on Good Friday and the sign out front told me what time someone would be there (in this case it was a sunrise service at the nearby park). When not occupied, the church might be just a building, true, but that building is easily identifiable, a symbol of God's presence in our lives; of his presence in the community. It's a building that represents something! Sometimes I wonder if someone looking at my life sees me standing for, sees me representing the same things the building at the corner of 25th and Jefferson does. I'm not exactly where I'd like to be yet, but it's something I hope all of us who call ourselves "Christians" are striving for. I think this is part of what it means to "be the church".
I hope knowing that the church is there is a comfort to our community. I hope that someplace in the person's mind, whoever the owner of the crack pipe was; that person knows that God is and that He loves us all. There is no sin too big that it can't be forgiven. Christ paid the price for them all. He died for each of us; that we may have eternal life if we accept the gift of Salvation that He freely offers.
My "if only" for today is simply this: If only each person reading this who hasn't, would accept that gift of love and forgiveness. Our world would be transformed from the place it is now to a place much different, much better than any of us could imagine. The gift is there for the asking.
If only you'll ask.
I'll never know why it was left there, but one possible explanation and my prayer for the owner is this:
I see in my mind's eye someone struggling with addiction, not knowing where to turn, and finding themselves in front of the First Baptist Church in Ogden. Sitting on the lawn, they're distraught, and turn to the Lord in prayer. Through His grace, He touches the life of the person sitting there and the pipe is left on the lawn as a way to say to Jesus, "You're right, Lord, and I don't need this anymore. I'm leaving this horrible thing with you, Jesus".
I'll never know if this is the case, but the point of today's post is this: If only this were the case. If this little scenario actually played out like the little vignette in my mind, what would have been the other ending if the church wasn't where it was? What if it were just an empty building, or not even a church at all? I honestly don't know where I'd be if I'd not known where to go when I was so distraught that Easter Sunday morning a year and a half ago. If the pastor hadn't been there and met with me the following Tuesday and helped me the way he did, where would my life be? I had a place to turn to because my church was there. I drove by on Good Friday and the sign out front told me what time someone would be there (in this case it was a sunrise service at the nearby park). When not occupied, the church might be just a building, true, but that building is easily identifiable, a symbol of God's presence in our lives; of his presence in the community. It's a building that represents something! Sometimes I wonder if someone looking at my life sees me standing for, sees me representing the same things the building at the corner of 25th and Jefferson does. I'm not exactly where I'd like to be yet, but it's something I hope all of us who call ourselves "Christians" are striving for. I think this is part of what it means to "be the church".
I hope knowing that the church is there is a comfort to our community. I hope that someplace in the person's mind, whoever the owner of the crack pipe was; that person knows that God is and that He loves us all. There is no sin too big that it can't be forgiven. Christ paid the price for them all. He died for each of us; that we may have eternal life if we accept the gift of Salvation that He freely offers.
My "if only" for today is simply this: If only each person reading this who hasn't, would accept that gift of love and forgiveness. Our world would be transformed from the place it is now to a place much different, much better than any of us could imagine. The gift is there for the asking.
If only you'll ask.
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