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Volunteers from First Presbyterian Churches of Lonoke and Malvern, Arkansas, serve hot meals to tornado victims in Mountain View, Arkansas, where temperatures remained near freezing for several days. Photo: Scott Akridge
I have thought of the expression “but for the grace of God there go I,” but in these critical times I have a way to make more than a material donation — I actually get to experience what self-offering is, and the expression becomes “and by the grace of God there I am.”
Isaiah’s well known self offering rings in our ears, “Here I am, send me.” We all have that opportunity to be there. By God’s grace we survive the heat (and bitter cold at times), the bug bites heal, the noise dies away and the debris gets removed. Moreover, by the grace of God, peoples’ lives slowly return to normal, the tears lasting for the night and then morning always dawns.
I’m not sure how to balance the greater satisfaction being a Pastor — looking into the work trailer here at the church, or looking out from it on some tormented terrain. In the first case I feel so much pride in our church — for giving over and beyond, for going and doing as time permits, and for imagining what more we can do. On the other hand, I feel such joy in knowing that some people will be better off tomorrow than they were today because our “little church” was there.
In Mt. View two weeks ago, the temperature was below freezing most of the time, the wind and rain were merciless and the lightning and thunder kept us up at night. But then a fireman who had been up for most of the week stood inside the flap of our cook tent, warmed himself with coffee and hot pancakes and exclaimed, “this is the first hot meal I have had in a week.” Others began to gather and one by one they left filled. I was particularly taken by a father and little girl, cold as it was, who sat outside at a table with the temperature just around freezing. For some reason they weren’t wearing warm clothes. Not a word spoken to us, they took the hot coffee and hot food, ate it and off they went. This was the gospel, I thought to myself, sharing our love, demonstrating God’s presence through grace, asking nothing in return, leaving the glory to God and especially being warmed by the joy of the experience for the rest of our lives.
Written by a minister in the Presbytery of Arkansas
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