From The Pastor’s Desk

The Hopeful Place in Life

I am a pastor. My life is intimately wed to the church. So maybe my views are a bit skewed, but I believe the church is a place of hope in an often-hopeless world.  Over the past 34 years, I have seen...

The church feed the homeless without thought of where the money for the food will come from. That is hope.

I have seen the church baptize a baby born out of wedlock to a mother ostracized by her family and friends.

The church loved that baby and young mother into a reborn life. That is hope.

I have watched the church, visited the drunk driver who was now in prison, reached out to the juvenile offender, and given jobs to the convict. That is hope.

I have seen the church hold the hand of a man dying from cancer, give shelter to the homeless, and weep with the mother whose infant died in her crib. That is hope.         

I have seen the church welcome the stranger in our midst, embrace the brokenhearted, forgive the sinner, rejoice with the one who was lost but now is found, and dance at an eighty-year-old's wedding. That is hope.         

The only shipwreck survivor was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day, he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few remaining possessions. But then, one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. “GOD, HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?” he cried.         

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. We saw your smoke signal, they replied.         

It is so easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn’t lose hopebecause God is at work amid pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground--- it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

Come Grow With Us,

Misty