Monday Morning After
January 16, 2012
My conversion to Christianity was somewhat clandestine. I knew something had changed, but I was still trying to figure it out during the few weeks that followed the night I gave my life to Christ. I lived in the basement of our house and my parents stored their books on a large bookshelf in that room. Several were sermons by Peter Marshall. As a new Christian, I was attracted to books of sermons. Somehow I was able to put my hands on a copy of some of Martin Luther King Jr’s sermons. They were biblically rooted and especially clear to me. Yesterday was his birthday. Today is the day we remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There were some common themes and one repeated stanza was from an old preacher, King would always say:
Lord, we ain’t what we oughta be;
We ain’t what we wanna be;
We ain’t what we’re gonna be;
But thank God we ain’t what we was! “
The words described a life in motion…not arrived. Can they be said of each of us?
On Sunday, we waded into the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-5. Jesus has his audience in mind. As he looks out at the crowd, he doesn’t bring the curse that many expected, but rather the blessing. He saw the poor in spirit, those that mourn, and those who were meek and oppressed. To them he gave the blessing that the kingdom of God had come near to them. The children helped me think about blessings and they told a little about their trip to help serve dinner at the Samaritan Center last Sunday even though talking about Friday’s overnight seemed a lot more interesting. Ron Vallet shared some insights about the Retired Ministers and Missionaries Thank You Offering. And we reminded everyone about the Winter Kids Coats Giveaway next Sunday! You had to be there. Maybe you were.
